Filia Oizys
by dislocation
Summary: "Stupid gorram idiot. Threaten me. Steal my wallet. Steal my gorram car keys!" Anna always wanted a 'study buddy' but a crazy homicidal maniac was not what she had in mind. And what kind of name is 'Backup', anyway? - TW: Gore. Follows but is not limited to 'LABB Murder Cases' (Another Note)
1. A Dangerous Man

**A/N: Nothing to say really, other than I don't own Death Note. This first chapter is much shorter than I wanted or expected it to be. Either way, enjoy, and review! :3**

* * *

_(Oizys: the malevolent daughter of Nyx, daughter of Erebus; the goddess of misery and woe.)_

.

How can one tell they are talking to a dangerous man?

It's quite simple.

That man is holding a knife to their liver.

Anna blinked as the police officer slowly walked past them, surveying the arm the attacker had around her waist. He smiled politely, the two young adults coming nothing short of an endearing sight to him: the small girl not being able to decide between two brands of blueberry jam as her partner softly held her close, his face buried in her neck as he whispered sweet nothings into her ear.

Honestly, she shouldn't have been surprised.

No wonder those officers never catch anybody.

Anna gave him a strangled smile and he hooked his hands behind his back and walked to the end of the aisle, his protective vest and the baton hooked at the brown leather belt disappearing as he turned the corner.

The attacker's hold didn't waver. Anna struggled in his grip, attempting to turn around to see his face in case the situation takes a turn for the worse and she would need to describe his face to a police sketch artist.

The knife pierced her skin through the black skater dress she was wearing. She stopped moving immediately.

"Try anything and I will drive this knife into your liver. You will die a slow and painful death."

The girl gulped and nodded, assuring him that a) she understood him and b) she will not try to scream for the officer at the top of her lungs.

A few tense moments passed before the knife and the hand left her but she didn't dare to move, afraid he might have changed his mind and decided it wouldn't have been such a bad idea to gut her after all.

"Excuse me, young lady; do you know where the cereals are?"

Anna jumped at the voice, clutching both jars to her chest. She slowly turned around but her captor was nowhere in sight. An old Mexican woman with a pink bomber jacket and flowery dress stared at her expectantly, her chocolate coloured lips stretched into a smile.

"I looked up and down the store but I can't seem to find them!"

The girl coughed awkwardly. "Uh, it's the third aisle to the left." She pointed it out to the old woman and she thanked her, shuffling away in her flip-flops with a "God bless you, child."

Anna looked around her worriedly, floppily dropping both of the jars into her shopping cart and hastily making her way straight to the check-out with jam, chocolate ice-cream and milk being the only items she had picked out.

"That will be $9.45".

She patted her upper jean jacket pocket and choked on her own breath. Her eyes widened in terror and, soon after, in anger.

_The bastard stole my wallet!_

She managed to luckily dig out an old $10 bill sandwiched between her library books in her school bag and handed it to the impatient, overweight, balding woman behind the till. She took it from the girl's fingers like it was diseased and dropped the change into her outstretched palm from as high as considered appropriate. A ten year old in the cue behind her demanded a chocolate bar from his exhausted father, wailing when he was refused one.

Anna piled the groceries in a plastic bag and bolted out of the store so fast, the doors barely opened in time for her to slip through the gap. Once outside the cold air hit her bare legs and she shivered, rubbing the back of her neck. A small part of her knew she should have been more fazed about the fact she was almost stabbed to death ten minutes ago but she could only find it in herself to be angry.

Very angry, for when she got to the space where she parked her car she found it empty.

.

* * *

.

"Stupid _gorram_ idiot. Threaten me. Steal my wallet. Steal my _gorram_ car keys!"

Anna muttered to herself the full 47 minutes it took her to walk home. The ice-cream was melting and creating a trail like breadcrumbs drop by drop. She could have dumped it in the nearest waste bin but she was too stubborn to do so.

The small cut has stopped bleeding but her dress was ruined and her jacket was stained with blood. She glowered at everyone she passed and cars honked at the oblivious girl as she crossed roads without as much as glancing at the busy traffic.

She thought she had it bad when some idiot burnt his toast at the university and the pipes above them burst out a shower of rain water, soaking all of their books and ruining not only the body they were dissecting and washing away three tense hours of careful observation but also destroying a couple of chemical experiments in progress on the floor below.

"Asshole!" She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and stomped her feet, growling. "I hope you get hit by a bus and your neck is impaled by a rusty metal pipe and _you_ die a slow and painful death!"

People stared at her and mothers covered their children's ears as they all hurried past the crazy brown haired student. The businessmen in expensive suits glared and tried to save their interrupted cell phone conversations. A few passers-by deliberated calling the men in the white coats.

Anna crossed the street before they gathered the courage to actually do so.

She waved at the old lady that lived below her, telling her to be careful as she climbed a fragile ladder to clean her windows. Anna offered to help her but the woman simply waved the young girl away, telling her she'll call when the television stop working again.

Anna rolled her eyes and laughed. "Sure thing, Mrs Walker!" She saluted her landlady before racing up the metal stairs and pausing midway to reaching into her pocket when realisation finally dawned on her.

Her house key was on the same chain as her car keys.

She anything but melted into a puddle on the floor and her knees buckled. She rested her head on the railing, cursing the man over and over again in her head.

"Anna, is that melted ice-cream on the stairs? Don't tell me you walked home all the way from the store!"

The girl winced before poking her head out to look at the old woman below. She grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, Mrs Walker, I will clean it up, I swear!"

The old woman pointed her index finger at her. "You better!" Then she spat on the old rag in her hand and wiped at the window.

Anna sighed and pouted, letting her head rest on the cold metal for a few more seconds before letting out a deep breath and standing up, dragging her feet the rest of the way up the stairs. There were only two other apartments in the building, one belonging to a forty-something divorcee and the other to a wannabe rock star who practiced his guitar at an ungodly hours in the night.

Her apartment was at the end with the windows in all of the rooms. By the time she got to the door she rested her head against it, fully exhausted. She dropped both of her bags on the floor and let her hands dangle lifelessly by her sides.

How could her day get any worse?

She decided to wait for the landlady to finish cleaning the windows before she asked for the spare key, oblivious to the door slowly swinging open. When she realised that her face had already connected to the floor with a loud thud. She cried out in pain, mentally yelling out all the insults she could think of.

She rolled over on her back and rubbed her aching nose, surveying the open door.

Curious; she couldn't remember forgetting to lock the door.

Slowly, a dark shape moved into her line of sight and came into focus directly above her. A pair of eyes glowered down at her. For a second they flickered in red, before returning to two dark irises of black.

Anna frowned. "This is definitely not my day."

.

* * *

.

She glared at the intruder from the corner of her eyes. The bastard tied her to a chair with rope he seemingly produced from nowhere. She tried to wriggle free of her bonds but she only managed to almost rub her arms raw. She was stripped of her jacket and her shoes.

He was riffling through Anna's fridge and inspecting the newly bought food products. At least he had the decency to put the ice-cream in the freezer but she doubted it was out of good will.

The attacker – and now intruder – was a tall lanky man of about six feet tall, although he might have been taller for he walked with a hunch, as if carrying a great weight on his shoulders. He sucked his thumb like a child, holding up bottles of sauces with two fingers as if with great distaste.

He wore a pair of dark jeans that fell around his form like a blanket and a black long sleeved t-shirt. He hummed, scratching his knee with a bare foot.

Anna couldn't see his face. He was not completely facing away but it was covered with a mess of black hair. He was deathly pale, and she guessed Caucasian, but she couldn't see his face clearly.

"I am not a fan of blueberry jam."

She glared, lacing her words with sarcasm. "I apologise. I wasn't exactly expecting guests."

The stranger didn't even acknowledge her as he unceremoniously threw the jars back into the refrigerator and slammed the door shut, walking straight past Anna to her small mattress in the corner of her studio apartment, underneath the window that was open and letting in a small breeze.

"So this is where you live?" he inquired, finally meeting her eyes through a curtain of hair, his fingers pulling at his bottom lip.

Anna's response was calling him an asshole in Spanish.

He proceeded to scrutinise every detail of her small studio flat in the same language. He mocked her book collection, hummed in appreciation at the detailed autopsy photos on her desk and raised a questioning eyebrow at the large cherry blossom painting covering the entire wall of the kitchen area.

"Untie me, you asshole!"

He smirked and climbed under the covers of her bed, turned his back to her and fell asleep right then and there.

With Anna still tied to the chair.

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air and for once in her life she was not able to even form any coherent words in her head.


	2. The Contract

**A/N: It's rather stressful to write this. The most fun part, always, is to drop subtle hints of foreshadowing. Reviews make me very, very happy! ^_^  
**

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_(She is the planter of the seed of distress in a mortal's mind…)_

_._

A knock rang through the air.

Anna's eyes shot open and she jumped awake, staring at the door with wide eyes. She looked down at her clothing. The same black dress. Her jacket was on her again but she was still barefoot, the white converse she wore before nowhere in sight.

Her bed was empty and the covers were made and her pink blanket was folded into a disturbingly neat square. The ropes were gone from her arms – though she realised that the moment she woke up – and the itching pain was the only clue of them ever being there.

The calendar above her desk read July 21st, 2002.

She quickly scanned the room and could have sworn it was less tidy the night before. Her bookshelf was organised by the date of publishing and she raised an eyebrow.

She never organised her books.

Anna tiptoed to the kitchen area, slowly peering over the small wall separating it from the main room and raised her eyebrows at the multiple jars of strawberry jam on the counter. Despite the belongings there was no sight of the culprit himself. She moved back and rested on the wall, letting out a deep breath.

The clock opposite her read 10:15am.

Another sequence of knocks made her jump.

Anna swallowed and walked up to the door, her left hand lingering on the handle and her right reaching for the door bolt, eyeing the spare key that was hung on a nail above the door. "Who is it?"

"Anna, dear, what's going on? Open the door!"

Anna gasped, fiddling with the lock and throwing open the door. Mrs Walker cried out, jumping a few steps back, a hand to her heart.

"Oh my, that gets the blood rate pumping."

Anna stared at her, not blinking. "Hi."

Her landlady gave her a shaken smile, observing the girl with her eyes. "Are you alright, Anna, you look as pale as a ghost! Those are clothes from yesterday, my, did you sleep in them?"

Anna shuffled on her feet, rubbing her tired eyes. "Uh… yes. Yes. I guess I was so tired, I just passed out." She smiled at the woman with one of her eyes closed. "Was there something you wanted?"

Mrs Walker gave the girl one last wary look before shaking her grey head and grinning. Her eyes looked to the left apologetically. "My television…" Her voice trailed off and she avoided looking at Anna, guiltily lacing her fingers together. "I suppose I jinxed it with my statement yesterday, as you people put it."

The student rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless, holding her hand up for Mrs Walker to stop talking. "Let me put on my shoes and I'll be right there."

Mrs Walker nodded and made to leave. Anna threw the entire living room upside down in search for her pair of converse in vain. In the end, she threw on a pair of pink flats and left, locking the door behind her with the spare key.

Five minutes later Mrs Walker handed Anna a glass of lemonade and stared at the girl expectantly with her big eyes and a warm smile.

Anna hated lemonade. But she downed the glass in one go and held back the burp that was threatening to escape her throat.

Mrs Walker smiled and took the glass from her and retreated to the kitchen, leaving Anna awkwardly sitting on the sofa, her hands in her lap. The landlady's cat opposite her yawned and stared at the girl with its clever amber eyes.

Anna's eye twitched. "What do you want?"

The ginger feline cocked its head to the side, blinking.

Anna rolled her eyes, looking at the old piano to her left. She bit the inside of her cheek and sighed. "Great. Now I'm talking to a cat."

Mrs Walked made her way back to the living room and sat on the sofa opposite Anna, immediately starting to stroke her pet with her wrinkled hands. The Scottish Fold moved closer to its owner, purring in contentment, focused on Anna the whole time.

"Thank you for fixing the television again, Anna," the landlady smiled at the girl, not sensing her obvious discomfort. "I've been meaning to buy a new one."

Anna shook her head. "No need, Mrs Walker. There are never any big problems with it. Just have to tweak the antenna once in a while to catch the signal, that's all."

Mrs Walker continued talking as if the girl never spoke. "I wish your two neighbours would be as nice as you. Mr Raymond drinks himself to sleep every night and Jesse does nothing but play his guitar and I have half a mind to kick that young man out." She rolled her eyes at Anna, clear distaste in her voice before smiling. "But you're a lovely girl and a respectful and dedicated student. You gained a little weight, I've noticed. I'm glad even though I can still see through you like a sheet of paper. You were nothing but skin and bones when you came here; there's a little more life to you now. My pies have been put to good use."

Anna breathed in heavily through her nose, reminding herself to smile.

"Everybody these days is either too thin or carries around enough fat to sustain a family of starving children."

Remember to smile.

"It's all their parents fault really. And all that junk food. I swear, I see a new restaurant open every single day and I don't even pop out for longer than a minute."

The cat yawned.

"And those teenagers with coloured hair and dark clothes, why I swear one of them almost smashed one of my windows. Well anyways, this is the first day of your holidays; I really shouldn't keep you here for long. You should go out and celebrate with some friends!"

A garbage truck stopped outside the house for exactly 76 seconds.

"But be careful! The crime rates have risen by a third! I have seven locks on my door and our garbage cans always get vandalised by those rascals of kids living on this street."

Anna re-entered her apartment slowly, breathing as quietly as she could and listening with carefully strained ears. Although she couldn't find the intruder earlier she couldn't shake a sinking feeling in her stomach that he was still there.

She shut the door and rested against it for a moment. She frowned when she noticed a smell of sweat in the air. Slowly, she lifted her jacket's collar and sniffed it, immediately gagging. Without a second thought she shed the jacket and kicked off her shoes, fully intent on having a shower.

When she walked into the path of harsh light streaming through the gap in the curtains she stumbled to close her eyes and sighed. She was exhausted and her muscles ached from sleeping on the chair.

She rubbed her neck, starting to wonder whether the whole incident was a dream, just a figment of her imagination. She walked into the bathroom and pulled the string for the light. A warm yellow glow streamed from above her.

Not giving her reflection any mind she opened the wooden cabinet above the sink. She took out a yellow cylinder amongst various care products and shook the small white pills inside. Anna screw open the lid and took one out, screwing the bottle shut again and placing it back on the shelf. She stared at the pill in her palm, an internal battle of cons and pros in her mind.

Her free hand reached to close the cabinet and she weighed the pill from side to side. She looked up, wondering whether her reflection will give her an answer but the first thing she saw was the man behind her.

Anna screamed and whipped around, the pill dropping to the ground. The black haired intruder raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms, clad in nothing but a towel around his waist, his hair sticking to his face.

No, it was definitely not a dream.

She screamed again, immediately rushing outside while covering her eyes. She tripped over a discarded pair of shoes but managed to catch her balance by the wall. With her hand still blocking her vision, she felt her way around until she found the kitchen table and dropped her weight into one of the chairs.

"What the hell man? I thought you were gone!" She yelled at the stranger.

He picked up the pill and followed her, his voice amused. "Are you going to be alright?"

"No! I will not be alright! I am traumatised and my eyes are literally burning! I will need at least a dozen therapist appointments to get that image out of my mind!" Anna was continuously shaking her head, shaking in convulsion at intervals. She peaked through her fingers and yelped, terrified to find him so close. He was standing in front of her, staring at the pill she dropped on his palm and Anna tried to figure out how he had moved so quietly.

She lowered her hands but refused to face the man directly. She rested her elbows on the table and buried her chin in her palm, looking at him through the corner of her eyes.

He looked different from the day before and if she didn't know any different she would have thought it was another person altogether save for the tall wiry frame.

His hair reached his collar bones and his bangs were swept to the side, revealing his wide bulging eyes. Anna noticed the dark circles were gone and she raised an eyebrow.

Make-up? She shook her head and growled at his bare chest. "Put some damn clothes on!"

He ignored her.

She couldn't pin point his ethnicity exactly but if she was to judge she would have guessed him to be English, although his hair was so black and thick and even while wet it soon stuck up as if its life mission was to defy gravity, and so she wouldn't have been surprised if he even had a dash of Japanese blood.

She rubbed her face and sighed, feeling a headache approaching. Her head was hurting simply from trying to figure out where he came from. He was holding the pill in his hand and slowly raised it to his mouth, licking it. Anna gagged in disgust. He paid her no mind and stared at it before throwing over his shoulder.

Anna rolled her eyes and rubbed them, content with keeping them close but a question wondered into her mind. She slowly looked up and stared at him as he was moving to stand around her, scrutinising the painted wall.

"What did you do with my car?"

He shrugged, pulling at his lower lip. "I crashed it into a tree."

Anna gaped and whipped around to face him, knocking the chair to the ground. "What?!"

"I did it deliberately. Your landlord would have questioned as to why I was the one returning with your car."

"Oh! That makes it so much better!" Anna ran a hand through her hair, pulling at the roots. "I don't even have insurance on that thing!"

"Why not?"

Anna rolled her eyes. "Dude! I'm a fricking university student! I don't have that kind of money even with my part time job!" She chanced a look at him to see the corners of his mouth tugged upwards.

He had the nerve to be smug.

She glared. "Could you put some clothes on, I find it uncomfortable to have to ask twice."

His eyes flickered to her. "I didn't think it would bother you too much."

Anna sighed, exasperated. "I'm going to have a shower. A very long shower."

Beyond grinned, twirling around to face her and linking his arm behind his back. "Do enjoy it, Miss Anna."

How did he know her name? Never mind. She didn't care.

She grumbled, throwing random clothes out for her to wear. "Bastard. Better not have used up all of the hot water."

.

* * *

.

Anna had hoped the shower would wake her up but it only made her more tired. She could barely recognise the girl in the reflection. She swayed on her feet, a towel wrapped around her and grabbed onto the sink to keep her balance. She stared into her own eyes for a moment, seeing nothing but a small hopeless girl in them. She frowned and threw open the cabinet, barely registering the actions of opening the bottle of medicine and swallowing a single pill.

The student threw down the towel and stretched and over her underwear she pulled on a pair of jean shorts and a baggy Iron Maiden t-shirt and pondered the need of a haircut when her wet hair hit the back of her shorts. As she walked out she shivered and once she saw a grey parka jacket laying nearby she threw it on.

She yawned, rubbing her eyes as she poured herself a bowl of cereal. The black haired man was already seated at the table, still frowning over the glare she gave him when she walked in as if he was honestly upset. Anna had hoped he left. She poured in the milk and stalking over to the table dropped herself into the seat opposite him, her eyes set into a permanent death glare even when his eyes didn't meet hers.

At least he was dressed by then. And his eyes were lined with black, to create an effect of over-exaggerated black circles under his eyes. He sat in his seat like a child, with his knees brought to his chest and Anna's back hurt just from the thought of it.

She was on her third mouthful of her food when he held up a sealed envelope with two gloved fingers. "You will email this today to the LAPD, first class. It's crucial they receive it tomorrow."

Anna laughed with her mouth full of cereal. She continued to giggle as she chewed and swallowed. She pointed her spoon at him. "You never told me you were funny!" She laughed again, and stuffed another spoonful of cereal in her mouth.

It took her a couple of moments to realise the stranger was not laughing along. Instead he trained his eyes in a fixed stare, the hand holding the envelope not shaking in the slightest.

She swallowed and her smile dropped.

"What the actual fuck?" Anna exclaimed, slamming her spoon on the table and standing up from her chair, the wood scraping across the tiles in a high pitched screech. "Firstly, it's Sunday. Even if I am lucky enough to find a post office that is open, it will undoubtedly be packed until the closing hour. And secondly: I don't even know your name or who you are and you almost butchered me in the grocery store, you broke into my house, you made me sleep tied to a chair; why in the world would I help you to do _anything?_"

He leaned forwards. "I will kill you."

Anna gulped and slowly lowered herself back into her seat. "You actually will, won't you?"

The man in front of her gave her a smile but it wasn't any one of the smiles he offered her before. Not once since she met him did she ever hold any other feelings towards him than anger, but this time she felt scared. She felt pure fear, flushing with goose-bumps that raised the hair on her neck.

The smile he gave her was one of a sadistic, merciless killer. A killer that will kill her slowly and enjoy every strangled scream of torture she will release, begging for him to stop. His eyes raked her trembling form like a painter surveying the progress of a painting.

When he spoke his voice blended in with the darkened room around them; the same voice in which he spoke his first words to her in the store the day before. "Yes."

Anna gulped and nodded, and reached for the envelope but he growled, narrowing his eyes at her fingers. She shifted in her seat and pulled her jacket over her hands and picked up the envelope with her sleeve. She placed it on the table by her side and sat back stiffly in her chair, her hands tied to her sides with invisible rope.

"What's inside?"

"A message."

Instant response.

Anna raised an eyebrow. "A message?"

He crossed his arms and rested them on the table. "A very difficult crossword puzzle."

A loud motorcycle pulled up outside, a signal that the younger of Anna's neighbours has come home, most likely from having partied the entire night.

Anna stared. "You are emailing a crossword puzzle to the Los Angeles Police Department." He nodded. "Who are you?!"

The darkness was gone and he looked down like a shy schoolboy talking to his crush. He looked back up and leaned on the back of the chair, nibbling on his thumb. "I am Ryuzaki."

.


	3. I Am Your Narrator

_**? : Good day, to you all! I am your Narrator. You will find my name out soon enough, there's no need to rush it. I am an observer, I do not participate in this tale in any significant way and I do not bend the hands of fate even in the slightest. For now, I will leave you with a single clue: I ****am old. Very old. I would wish to say I am also wise, but it would be disrespectful to those few who truly are; I simply know a lot of things. And some things that I shouldn't. But let's face it, you do as well, don't you, dear reader?**_

* * *

_(…the bringer of suffering…)_

_._

You know undoubtedly as well as I that the frightening man in front of Anna was lying. You know that his name was not in fact Ryuzaki, but something more unique.

He was Beyond Birthday.

Or at least, that was what he called himself.

And while he was already in the process of carrying out his plan to create the biggest case L has ever faced –even though L will know after the first murder it was Beyond, after all, he waited for him to strike ever since he ran away from Wammy's House- you know he's done many bad things some perhaps even worse than what he's planning to do over the next month.

Of course all of it could be justified: those people are supposed to die on that exact day and time anyways, but no one knew that fact apart from Beyond himself and he wasn't planning to kill them out of cruelness. They will die either way and he will give a purpose to their otherwise pointless existence.

It was not his intention at first to use Anna. When he threatened her in the store she knew nothing but the sound of his voice and that itself was a disguise. Beyond planned every moment carefully and while he was evidently good at improvisation, apart from conducting experiments for his own amusement he was never really a fan of it. He detected everything he needed to know about Anna from her car and when he realised she could be a good pawn in his plan, he crashed the vehicle and walked away unscratched, spinning the keys around his index finger with a bounce to his step.

But Anna didn't know any of those things. She simply stared at him with disbelief.

"_Ryuzaki?"_

"It's an alias. My other name is Backup." Beyond used the unofficial name the Wammy's House has given him and he bit his thumb, bile rising in his throat simply at the thought of the place.

"What kind of name is Backup!?"

"Another alias."

Ana's face was red with anger. "Then which is it!?"

"My real name is neither of those."

"Argh!" Anna threw her hands in the air, and hit her head on the table, narrowly missing her bowl. "Brilliant. I am a prisoner of a man whose real name I don't even know." She scratched her head, muttering to herself. "Though I suppose you _would_ lie to me. After all, we both know I will run to the police if I know your name. On the other hand, you might have already told me your real name to trick me. I have a feeling I shouldn't trust anything you say, not a single word. Am I right, _Ryuzaki_?"

Ryuzaki rolled his eyes. The girl was even more overdramatic than he first assumed, and incredibly short tempered. He tapped the table until she raised her head, clearly annoyed.

"It's 1:17pm and the nearest post office will be closing in two hours and thirteen minutes."

Anna was compelled to ask him how he even knew that but the question died on her throat. Instead she just shook her head and walked away to find a decent pair of shoes and her wallet, pausing when she remembered that Ryuzaki had taken it.

She slowly turned back around, glaring at his hunched form on the kitchen chair. "Where is my wallet?"

He didn't as much turn his head. "I should hang onto it for now. My plan will require financial sources."

"Your plan?" Anna shook her head, crossing her arms and scoffing. "Hah. Good luck figuring out the pin to my credit card."

Ruyzaki smirked and she frowned, felling like the gesture was a prelude to doom. "Already did. Only took me 26 seconds."

Anna opened her mouth to yell at him but her voice failed her. She stood there, gaping at him for a few moments before dropping to the ground and violently shoving a pair of black sneakers onto her feet.

"I hate him, I hate him, I hate him," she muttered to herself as Ryuzaki stood up, stretched and patting his back pocket pulled her out of the apartment, the ring with Anna's apartment key swinging from the hoop at the front of his jeans.

.

* * *

.

Anna paid the shipping price and took the change from the old woman at the post office whose polite smile dropped the moment Anna stepped out of line and she screamed for the next customer to come forward. The student marched to the corner of the post office, glaring at the man on the bench the entire time.

She assumed Ryuzaki would simply keep an eye on her from a distance and otherwise not interfere but she had been wrong. Not only did he proceed to sit as close to her in the bus as humanly possible, he produced a pair of black leather gloves out of nowhere and declared with the voice of a presidential speaker that it was a birthday present from the bottom of his heart and demanded she put them on immediately.

He even stood in line with her before he got bored and noticed a candy machine by the waiting benches in the corner at which point he anything but skipped to them and poured in endless amounts of change. At the end of the entire ordeal he sat there with a small mountain of sweets on his lap, snaring at every child that approached him.

Anna sat down next to him and took a pen from the desk behind her, the letter already stamped with every sticker possible. She started to write the LA Police Department's address on one side and on the sender's information space she simply wrote down an address of an abandoned factory site a few blocks down.

Ryuzaki took a side glance to her, sucking on a red lollipop, noticing she hadn't dropped the frown ever since she had to get on the bus and deduced she must have been truly hurt about the car. A man, most likely from the police had rung earlier about finding it in wreckage while Anna was out of the house that morning but he simply screeched out a "you've got the wrong number" and hung up.

Anna threw the pen over her shoulder and stood up, stomping her way over to the red post box outside, making a show of slamming the door behind her. She posted the letter and crossed her arms, waiting for Ryuzaki impatiently, tapping her foot.

He looked down at the sweets on his lap. A small boy to his left looked up at him with a hopeful look in his eyes. Ryuzaki stared at him, before gathering the sweets up in his shirt and carrying them out like a new-born baby. Anna rolled her eyes, taking off her gloves and stuffing them in her pockets, her legs taking her on the way to the nearest bus stop.

Glaring through the harsh sun, she crossed her arms, staring at Ryuzaki from the corner of her eyes. He had consumed the entirety of the sweets in less than five minutes, attracting the eye of every passer-by. As he lapped up the last one he noticed Anna staring and looked down at the sweet before raising an eyebrow at her.

"I apologise," he smiled guiltily. "It appears I have eaten all of them. You look upset, did you want one?"

Anna blinked then rolled her eyes, walking away.

Ryuzaki noticed _her_ before Anna did.

A tall bubbly blonde was hurrying towards them, her eyes focused on an oblivious Anna who kicked a small rock in her way and it launched itself into the street, grazing a passing car.

"Anna!"

The girl in question looked up, startled before her face transformed to an expression of dread. She closed her eyes, pulling her lips into a smile. A smile so fake, Ryuzaki actually cringed. But the blonde hardly noticed, she reached Anna an threw her arms around her in a hug, unaffected.

"Oh how I have missed you, Anna!" she cried.

Anna hugged back, stiffly. "We saw each other yesterday, Kate, at the 1st year's leaving ceremony, remember?"

Kate pulled away, her painted red lips pulled down in a frown at her friend's mild enthusiasm. "But it was the last day of term and was almost 24 hours ago! I'm used to seeing you every single day this past year, either at the university or at work! "

Anna shrugged. "Well when you put it that way, I guess I missed you too," she said. Kate grinned, her teeth showing. Her bag was slowly sliding off her shoulder and she readjusted it, beaming at her friend.

"I still can't believe you've gotten the highest score in the entire class! That was only four marks off the university's Freshman record! You must be a genius!"

Anna rubbed the back of her neck embarrassed. "Hey, autopsies are what I'm good at, and besides you seem to forget that Jack and Abdul have gotten basically the exact same score as I and they had much better scores in the earlier modules…"

As her voice trailed off, Kate's eyes travelled to the left and she noticed Ryuzaki for the first time. She looked between him and Anna, her eyebrows rising with each passing second before she pointed an accusing finger at him. "Who are you?"

Ryuzaki feigned surprise. "Anna hasn't told you about me?"

Kate leaned forwards, her hands linked behind her back. "What's there to tell?"

'Absolutely nothing' was what Anna was about to retort when Ryuzaki threw his arm around her.

"I'm Tom McCoy. It's lovely to meet you! Anna told me so much about you!" He bowed.

Kate stood up straight, humming doubtfully. "Anna never mentioned you to me."

Ryuzaki turned to the girl beside him in terror. "You never told them about your own boyfriend?"

Anna's face flushed and she jumped, clutching her hands to her chest. "WHAT!?" Her ears reddened with anger. "You are not my boyfriend, you creep!"

Ryuzaki rolled his eyes, throwing Kate a suggestive smirk. "Well then we're _very_ good friends," he giggled.

He actually giggled. Anna took a step away from him, horrified. "Shut up!"

Kate laughed. "That's our Anna. Always so embarrassed." She wagged her finger at her friend who didn't pay her any intention, instead glaring at Ryuzaki in disbelief. Kate noticed her own wrist watch and paled in horror. "Oh no, I can't believe I'm late! I'll see you at work tomorrow, what time do you come in?

Anna's anger vanished as she scratched her head, trying to remember and turned towards her fellow student and co-worker. "I think I clock in at the coffee shop around 3pm during the holidays."

Her friend nodded and waved, calling "Goodbye!" over her shoulder as she skipped away and Anna turned to Ryuzaki with a raised eyebrow. "Tom McCoy?"

Ryuzaki grinned. "You shouldn't make fun of me, my dear. Who knows maybe one day you will be Mrs Anna McCoy!"

"W-What?! Shut up!"

.

* * *

.

Ryuzaki hummed as they got off the bus and Anna thanked the driver as he tipped his hat toward her. "I was right." He resumed walking in a slouch, a newly acquired baseball cap on his head, Anna's jacket on his shoulders and a thumb to his lips. "My first deductions were correct. You are a student of the South California Medical School."

Anna nodded as she eyed a patrolling police officer walking on the street parallel to them. "That's right."

Ryuzaki scanned her form, pleasantly surprised. "Congratulations."

Anna shook her head and growled. "I still can't believe you told her you were my boyfriend! How embarrassing!" She gripped her hair in her hands. "What the hell am I going to tell her?!"

Her companion waved his hands, taking a step closer towards her once he noticed the police officer and smirked at the grunt Anna released in discomfort at his close proximity. "Just make something up."

Anna whirled to him in anger, her voice a hiss. "'Just make something up!?' You don't understand the consequences of what you just did! She's going to ask for everything! Everything! Every damn measly detail!"

Ryuzaki saw the girl's apartment house come into view and sighed, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He wasn't sure whether he could take another minute of her whining. He didn't realise he fastened his pace until Anna was hurrying after him.

"Hey, what the hell?"

He raced up the steps so quickly he was a blur of black, dragging Anna with him.

"Dude, let go of my arm, you're going to give me even more bruises!"

When Ryuzaki unexpectedly stopped in his tracks, Anna rammed into him and clutched on the back of the jacket and caught her breath. Ryuzaki had let go of her hands and his arms were by his side, his fingers curled into fists for a moment before he relaxed and crossed them across his chest.

"Hello there! You must be Jesse! I knew your name sounded familiar!"

Anna peaked over Ryuzaki's shoulder and frowned. Jesse's brown eyes scanned Ryuzaki warily. "Do I know you?"

"We met in the _Devil's Prophet 2001_ California Debut, do you remember?"

Jesse put down his guitar case and scratched his beard stubble, shaking his head. "No, sorry." He shrugged guiltily.

Ryuzaki waved him off, grinning "I wouldn't expect you to. To be honest you were so drunk you sang _The Womb_ lyrics during the _Cronos_ guitar solo."

Jesse laughed, running a hand through his shoulder length hair, only then noticing Anna who looked away to avoid his eyes. He leaned on his door, smiling cockily. "Oh hey there, I haven't seen you in what seems like years! You always manage to avoid me!"

Anna shifted, pulling her lips into a tight smile. "Hi!"

Jesse grinned. "So what have you been up to?"

Anna shrugged, about to open her mouth but Ryuzaki stepped in front of her, jumping so close to Jesse that the guitarist hit his back violently on his door in an attempt to scramble away. "Let me guess, Ana hasn't told you about me either?"

Anna looked between the two men, nervously fiddling with her fingers. Jesse gave her a questioning look. "What is he talking about?" He actually looked hurt.

Ryuzaki grinned at the expression on his face. "I'm a friend of Anna's! I'm staying with her for a while and I can't believe you live right next to her! What a coincidence!"

Jesse laughed sarcastically, crossing his arms, his male dominance dropping by the second. "Yeah, what a coincidence, indeed."

Anna's head hurt from the conversation. She glared at the side of Ryuzaki's face, watching him reduce Jessie's ego to the size of a cowardly mouse. She didn't understand him and was beginning to wonder whether she will ever even skim the surface of his true personality. He pulled different characters out of his sleeve like party tricks. Anger pooled in her stomach and she growled, wrapping her hand around his pale wrist.

"So sorry Jesse, our schedule is packed! We'll talk another time! Gotta go now!" she said, calling over her shoulder. Ryuzaki was dragged behind, waving Jesse goodbye as he comically tripped over his feet at every second step.

Jesse waved back, his eyebrows raised.

Anna was furious. She shut the door behind her and Ryuzaki and whirled around, her finger pointed at his face. "Is this a game to you? Sadistic bastard! Is it your new mission, to completely destroy my life, to piss me the hell off to the moon and back until I can't handle it anymore and explode like a nuclear power plant?!"

Sending a letter to the LAPD? She growled. She knew what kind of people sent messages to the police. She didn't want to be a pawn to whatever dangerous game Ryuzaki was playing.

She didn't want to die.

She didn't.

…Right?

"_So, tell us what's been going on with you, Anna. Are those dark thoughts still bothering you?"_

Anna shook her head, brushing the memory away. She refocused her glare at Ryuzaki but his eyes were trained on their joined hands. He held them up until they were directly between his and Anna's eyes and smiled shyly. "Can I have my hand back?"

Anna yelped, letting go of his wrist as one would of an infected specimen and jumped away. She wiped her hands on her shirt, glaring at him. "I hate you!"

Ryuzaki rolled his eyes. "Oh don't be so childish." He headed immediately for the kitchen, his eyes hungrily trained of the jars of strawberry jam.

Anna fumed, stalking after him. "I'm childish!?" Her stomach rumbled and she frowned when she saw him opening a jar and sticking his fingers inside. He started to eat the jam by the mouthful and her stomach rumbled even louder. "God, I am so hungry," she groaned, wrapping her hands around herself, pulling a face at the loud and sloppy way Ryuzaki was eating the jam. After a few handfuls, he simply tipped it back, and drank it as one would drink tea.

The day before yesterday, she would have been running away simply from the sight of it. Instead, she rolled her eyes at the display and wondered back into the living room, picking up a take-away leaflet from the top of her desk before dropping into her bed.

She buried her head into the pillow. "Why me?" she mumbled to herself, turning her head to look at Ryuzaki. He had finished the jar of jam in a couple of big mouthfuls and wiped his mouth with the sleeve of her jacket, reaching for seconds.

"Just you wait," she warned, under her breath. "Next time we walk past a police officer, I'm elbowing you in the gut and running for it, screaming at the top of my lungs.

"I swear."

.


	4. Absence

**A/N: ****I am very glad people find this story humorous so far because I feel that as it progresses, I will have less windows to include comedy once the darker themes come into play.  
****Right about now.****  
**

* * *

_(…and she has played her part in the causes of every war and disharmony and feuds between family and friends.)_

_._

Anna stared at the woman parallel to her, their bodies a mirror image. One leg crossed over another, both hands on the arm rests, eyes level.

Grey jeans versus black suit trousers. A black t-shirt versus a navy blazer. Long messy hair versus beautifully styled blonde curls elegantly draped on angular shoulders.

The therapist tapped her fingers, her expression as smooth as stone. Her eyes showed the patience her body didn't exhibit. Her right foot moved in a circle, a pair of red high heels shining the colour of blood when a ray of light shone upon them.

"Have you been taking your medication?"

Silence.

She smiled at the young girl in front of her and sighed. "I suppose we are back to square one. We have spent 47 minutes in silence this morning. Do you truly have nothing you wish to talk to me about?"

Anna sighed, crossing her arms, the balance between the two women broken. She took in a deep breath, surveying the tall bookshelves around her.

The therapist frowned. "I can only assume your silence suggests that no obstacles have been thrown in the way of your recovery. But to me you seem troubled. And although I would prefer a stable state of mind in place of a deteriorating one, it will be hard to move forward without adequate effort supplied. The only way to do so is by talking to me."

The student met her eyes and spoke for the first time since entering the room. "I have gotten the highest marks for the last topic of this term."

The blonde smiled. "Congratulations."

Anna looked to the side, her eyes lingering on a Victorian mirror. Her reflection stared back at her from a sepia-tone world. "It's the first word people say."

The elder woman scanned the girl. "You do not like it."

Anna rolled her eyes before closing them and relaxing, her back sinking into the armchair. "They're pointing out the obvious, Dr Foveaux. It was flattering at first but recently it's become simply annoying and nothing more than an irrelevant flock of opinions."

"You're my patient," said Ellen Foveaux. "You don't have to hide your thoughts from me; in fact I advise against it."

Anna breathed heavily, opening her eyes but her gaze was unfocused, hazy. She looked at the ceiling without seeing it, staring through it as if she could see the sky.

The therapist reached over to the coffee table between them and picked up a notepad, twirling a pen in her hands before touching the tip on the paper. The distance between them hindered Anna from seeing what she was noting down. "Let's revisit the topic of relationships, then. Is there anyone new in your life?"

Ryuzaki.

Anna shook her head, her eyes focused above her. "No."

Foveaux nodded, noting that down. Her wise eyes looked back up at the girl, realising that while she appeared to be relaxed, her jaw was tense and her hands gripped her forearms so tightly, the knuckles were turning white.

"And the thoughts we talked about, do they still bother you?"

The student blinked and her voice wavered. "No."

Liar.

The therapist cocked her head to the side but bit her words, choosing to write down her thoughts instead of voicing them.

One of the lights above them flickered.

A dozen minutes later Anna was walking through Dr Foveaux's front door, crossing her arms when the cold wind hit her skin. She walked down the front porch steps, looking up at the multiplying clouds in the sky.

It was an unusually cold day in July. A ridiculously windy and chilly day for California.

Anna yawned and rubbed her eyes, deciding to walk straight to the Coffee Shop where she works part time. It would take an hour and she would still have plenty of time to spend downtown before she had to clock in and Anna sighed, feeling truly relaxed for the first time after the last few days.

Only one question stayed in her mind.

Where was Ryuzaki?

When she woke that morning he was nowhere to be seen. The spot where he had fallen asleep on the floor the night before was cleared away and there was no presence of strawberry jam in the fridge or even any empty jars in the trash. Anna looked for him in every corner, called his name a dozen times but there was no answer.

Both of her keys were on the desk. No items of her clothing missing.

The only remains of his presence were a pair of black leather gloves under Anna's pillow and her credit card missing, although her wallet was on the kitchen table and contained thirty dollars and was currently inside the front pocket of her jeans.

She shivered and took in a deep breath, letting the cool air clear her head.

.

* * *

.

"Tell. Me. Everything."

Anna stared at Kate, her hand on the Coffee Shop's door handle. She closed it, rolling her eyes at the blonde wearing a pink dress, seemingly unaffected by the cold weather. "Dammit, Kate, I barely walked through the door!"

Kate shrugged, holding a blueberry muffin and skipped back to behind the line of customers at the counter. "I'm just so curious!"

The brunette rolled her eyes and followed her friend, picking up a clipboard with a list of employees' names. She noted her name down, as well as the time she came in, and grabbing a rubber band from her wrist she put her hair up in a messy bun. She pointed at the muffin in Kate's hand, the latter taking a huge bite out of it. "Those are supposed to be for the customers."

The blonde stuck out her tongue.

Anna joined Kate and smiled at a teenager next in line. "What is it that you'd like?"

Kate pouted. "Yes, throw yourself into the work to avoid answering the question."

The bright eyed boy grinned and gave the blackboard behind Anna a glance. "Two large hot chocolates, please!"

Anna smiled, pressing a button on the hot chocolate machine and grabbing a paper cup from under the counter. "That will be four dollars."

The teenager placed a five dollar bill on the counter and when Anna gave him his change he placed it in the tip jar, earning a dazzling smile from Kate. The kid blushed and looked down, turning to look behind him where through a window a pretty redhead waved enthusiastically.

Anna liked her part time job. When she first started seven months ago she assumed it wouldn't last long due to the demand of social interaction. But she soon learned the work was almost robotic. She hardly had to think, even if Kate was chatting to her during the entire shift.

And they could have all the coffee they wanted without it being taken out of their wages.

Kate bumped her shoulder. "We should go out drinking!" Anna gave her a sideways glance, scooping two large tablespoons of ice-cream into a blender.

"I don't think it's a good idea," she said, pulsing the mixture and then pouring it into a plastic cup, reaching for a chocolate sprinkler and creating a smiley face for a child's order. "We're underage."

The blonde scoffed, handing an overweight woman a caramel latte. "Oh don't be so childish!" Anna flinched at the overbearing feeling of déjà vu the words brought. "So what? Casey promised to bring her older sister, technically we will be under supervision and nobody asks for I.D.s in LA."

Anna handed a little girl her milkshake and she grinned, her mother already leading her away. She sighed motioning for the next customer. "Are we the only two working tonight?"

Kate grinned. "Yeah, but it's a Monday. It's only so busy at the moment because it's peak hour and all the kids and students have just left school. Monday's are slow, you know that." She frowned at her friend. "And I'll take your lack of response to my offer as a sign that you'll think about it."

Anna opened her mouth to protest but Kate spun around her, handling three orders at once. She sighed, scratching her head. She only managed to catch up to her friend when the Coffee Shop was empty apart from a teenage couple giggling on a bench in the corner.

Kate rounded on the brunette, her hands on the girl's shoulder. "So… how long have you been keeping Tom a secret from me?"

Anna dropped her head, sulking. "He is not my boyfriend, he's just…" She tried to choose her words carefully. "He's an old friend; we haven't been in touch for a while but he just came over to LA and he needed a place to stay."

The blonde nodded, resting her arms on the counter. "That explains why he was so freakishly pale. Who the hell is pale in LA?" She turned to Anna, wiggling her eyebrows with a suggestive smirk. "You looked pretty cute together with his arm around you." Anna choked on empty air.

She could have laughed.

Her and a killer? Ha.

Kate burst out laughing at the expression on her friend's face, not stopping until she was gasping for air, holding her stomach in pain. "You are so cute when you're embarrassed. Ah, I do love you, Anna."

Anna glared, pouting. The moment a customer walked through the door she jumped to take their order. Her co-worker patted her head like a mother would a child. "Oh cheer up; you know I am just teasing you. You always get so worked up."

"Ha, ha, ha." Anna retorted. "That was sarcastic, by the way."

The blonde rolled her eyes and skipped to the store room. When she came back, she held a small bag of coffee beans which she proceeded to empty into the Espresso machine. "Seriously though, tell me about him."

Anna raked her brain grabbing a wet rag and cleaning down the counter before any other customers could arrive and notice the small coffee spillages on the surface. "There's not much to tell. He's a little odd, I suppose. He's hard to describe." She paused in her thoughts, biting her thumb but once she realised it was Ryuzaki's trait she quickly dropped it, wiping it on the rag. "Honestly I haven't been in touch with him for a while, he kind of dropped from the sky and asked for my help. He was desperate, so I took him in."

Kate beamed at her. "Well you've a very good friend to do so!"

.

* * *

.

"Ryuzaki?"

No response.

Anna sighed, placing her keys on top of a bookshelf.

A faint sound of guitar drifted from Jesse's apartment. Anna checked every single room just to find them empty.

She dropped herself onto her bed, resting her hands on her knees and her head in her palms. "He really left."

A weight dropped from her chest. Tears brimmed at the corner of her eyes and she squeezed them shut. She only had a few moments of peace before her calm breaths deepened and she gasped, her hands flying to her mouth.

Relief washed over her.

She was free.

She was free.

She stumbled to her feet, choking on her tears, wiping at her face with the bottom of her shirt. Her lips moved around words, not releasing any sound. She shuffled towards the kitchen, her vision blurred.

A lump formed in her throat and she frowned, her hip painfully hitting the kitchen counter. She winced, doubling over and moving to rest her head against the counter but she hit her forehead on the wall instead.

That time she cried out.

Her vision swam and she bit her lip.

She didn't understand the feeling of dread in her stomach. The feeling of having lost a part of her.

She couldn't comprehend _why _she felt so _alone_.

Anna recovered her breath, gritting her teeth as she pushed herself to stand up straight. Her legs failed her and she fell backwards, painfully hitting the ground. She managed to turn around, falling on her knees. She reached for something, anything to hold onto and her right hand found the door of the fridge.

Grunting, she managed to find her footing again, leaning onto the refrigerator. She took in deep breaths, biting down on the burning sensation at the back of her throat and blinked harshly before throwing open the door.

She screamed, stumbling backwards and fell on her backside, her face white with horror.

A drop of blood dripped to the floor.

On the top shelf, a severed human head stared down at her with bulging eyes.

.


	5. A God's Will

**A/N: This chapter is really annoying and really jumpy and doesn't make sense in the slightest and I am very, very sorry for that.**

* * *

_._

_(Her child, anxiety, is rich with conception in every woman's womb and every man's mind.)_

_._

Anna hadn't realised she passed out until she woke up a few hours later, her head ringing. She sat up and her eyes travelled upwards against her body exhibiting every signal not to.

The head was gone.

The refrigerator's door slowly closed shut.

She sighed in relief, her form collapsing before her eyes widened and she stiffened. She scrambled to her feet, rushing towards the clock.

Only two hours have passed.

"Shit!" Anna cursed. She turned in circles until she felt sick and leaned on the table. The mere thought of the head gave her an unbearable urge to throw up and she thanked god when it soon went away. After all, a medical student like herself was used to images of dead bodies.

Still, one doesn't expect to find a body part in their fridge.

"Shit, shit, shit!"

She ran towards the bathroom, then the kitchen, throwing every cupboard open looking for something, _anything_, to prove that it wasn't a dream, to prove that it was real.

She sat in the middle of her living room, surrounded by clutter. She scratched her head, throwing books and bottles of cleaning liquid over her head. She picked up a handheld UV lamp and…

…!

She rushed to the kitchen, moving boxes and books away from the front of the fridge. She threw the doors open and shined the light on the glass shelves.

Nothing.

She growled, punching it shut, before remembering seeing some of the blood drip to the ground. She got down on her knees and shone the light on the ground, slowly, squinting at every inch of the floor.

There it was!

A single drop of blood, illuminated a dark blue.

She sighed and dropped to the ground, breathing out in relief. She laid on her back, never being more glad to see the old wooden ceiling above her.

She was not losing her mind. She was not hallucinating.

It was not a dream.

Realisation hit her and she buried her hands in her hair, pulling at the roots, horrified. "Oh god, it was not a dream! There was a bloody severed head in my fridge! A real human head!"

.

* * *

.

Close to a week has passed with no message from Ryuzaki. Still Anna woke every morning with a start, her hand on a baseball bat she began to keep by her bedside.

There wasn't a day she went by not expecting him to pop out from somewhere. She even started to open her fridge door slowly, a part of her convinced she will find another body part inside.

July 29th was no different.

Not even bothering to change out of her sleepwear of a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, the first thing she did was check the house was empty. She was looking at the unfamiliar scratches on the back of her wardrobe when the knocks rang.

Anna jumped and in the struggle of getting out brought half the clothes down on top of her. She scrambled away from the pile and ran to the door, struggling with the bolt lock.

She frowned when the two people outside where none other than her own parents. She would have rather stood face to face with blood covered Ryuzaki.

The first thing her mother asked was, "Have you been taking your medication?" before brushing past her and heading straight for the kitchen, carrying a bright pink backpack that she set on the table.

Her father smiled, patting her shoulder as he walked around her, eyeing the baseball bat. "Nice one."

Anna stared at the spot her parents left with her hands raised in disbelief. She scoffed, offended, shutting the door. "What happened to 'Good Morning'?"

She turned around and yelped, coming face to face with her father. He ruffled her hair, his voice slow and patient, as if talking to a child. "Go and take your medication to make your mother happy, won't you?" When she opened her mouth to protest he shushed her. "You've obviously just woken."

Anna rolled her eyes, dragging her feet to the bathroom. She opened the cabinet and took out the yellow cylinder container. She took one look at it and frowned.

It was empty.

This once instead of freaking out she had the sense to take in a deep breath, and slowly close the door.

She looked at her reflection and rolled her eyes. "Whatever." If only now she noticed the pills were missing, that meant she went almost an entire week without them; how much damage can one more day do?

And a few hours later she found herself pulling the sleeves of her shirt over her hands, wincing at the hand around her shoulders. Her father leaned on the back of the sofa, sighing deeply.

His voice was disappointed. He didn't even look at his daughter as he spoke. "We're her parents, obviously we are worried about her."

Dr Ellen Foveaux cleared her throat, folding her hands over her clipboard. "Well as pleasant as it is to see you here, Mr and Mrs Nixon-"

"Please, call us Mark and Christina."

The therapist smiled, just to be polite. "Yes of course. What I was going to say is that as pleasant as it is to have you both here, I have insisted before for these meetings to be solely between Anna and I."

Her eyes scanned the trio in front of her on a brown leather couch. It was not possible for her patient to appear more uncomfortable.

Anna shifted in her seat, three pairs of eyes trained on her.

Her mother rolled her eyes at her daughter and turned to the blonde therapist in front of them. "Please tell us, how our daughter is doing?"

No response.

Mark crossed his arms. "We're the ones paying you, dammit! You have no right to withhold information from us concerning out own daughter!"

Ellen stared, her jaw set at the rude outburst. She took in a deep breath.

"If your daughter sees it fit to disclose you with the information about her own recovery, she will do so but you will not hear any more from me."

Anna has never left that office so fast in her life. She stood outside the doctor's house, waiting for her parents to come out.

Christina rolled her eyes, pulling at her blue blouse and fanned her face as she stood beside her daughter. "You don't need her."

Anna protested, shaking her head. "You're wrong."

Her mother whirled to face her, her sunburnt face turning redder. "Then what I and your father are supposed to do? You never call us anymore! We pay for your therapy without any knowledge of how you are doing. We live in the same city, for god's sake and you never check in!"

The student rolled her eyes. "I am doing fine."

Christina closed her eyes, sighing as her husband walked up to them, telling them he's called a cab. "You know we are just worried about you."

Anna sighed, sitting down on the ground with her legs crossed, not caring about her shorts getting dirty. "Whatever."

Her mother opened her mouth to protest but Mark put his hand on her shoulder. He squatted in front of his daughter, placing his hand on her head.

In his eyes, she seemed exhausted. She was paler than usual, dark circles under her eyes. On her head was a long, frail, rat's nest. She wore a pair of shorts and a long sleeved black t-shirt with a pair of white sneakers; clothes he would expect a child to wear.

Anna looked up, frowning at the expression on his face. "What?"

He smiled sadly. "We just want you to be happy, kiddo," he said. "We know you were never the kid who ran home and shared all types of stories with us. But we want to know that you're alright. You're independent now and that tragic accident happened two years ago."

His daughter had an unbearable urge to laugh in his face. "_Tragic accident."_

He sighed, his hand falling from her head to her shoulder. "I know you blame yourself, I know you've _always_ had, but you need to stop. Two long years have passed, two long years of failed medication and therapy until we found something that worked."

Her mother's voice rang above them. "A very _expensive_ solution!"

Mark rolled his eyes, smirking. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you at least have one last session with that therapist lady, what's-her-face," he whispered, patting her shoulder twice.

A yellow taxi pulled up in front of them. Mark helped his daughter up as his wife got into the vehicle. He brushed the dust off of her shoulder. "Well, we'll be off now. Don't forget we're expecting you for you Aunt's dinner party on the August 30th!" He walked around the taxi and disappeared inside.

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Wait a minute, so the therapy meeting was the only reason you came here?!"

Christina rolled down her window and stuck her head out. She was genuinely surprised. "But of course, darling!" She waved as they drove away. "Do call us, sweetie!"

Anna scoffed, her hands in the air. "Oh I will be sure to do that!"

The response from her parents was a mouthful of dust.

She coughed, waving the cloud away. She crossed her arms, stomping her foot on the ground. "_You_ guys, are the insane ones."

.

* * *

.

Loud music was draining through the stereo in the living room. Kate took a big gulp of beer from a take-away sized plastic cup and leaned forward until her mouth was next to Anna's ear.

She was yelling at the top of her lungs and her friend could barely hear her. "We should go outside for a chat, It's getting crazy in here."

Anna's eyes scanned their surroundings. She was pretty sure 90% of the people were drunk and that every single one of them was underage. She nodded to Kate and the blonde wrapped her hand around her wrist and the two managed to stumble outside, avoiding every drunk person that shoved their faces in their way.

Once outside on the balcony Kate shut the door and both girls breathed in the fresh air.

Kate laughed. "You know you can be so childish sometimes. Your parents tell you take care of yourself and you go out drinking that immediate night like a rebelling teenager."

Anna smirked, leaning on the balcony railing. "Perhaps you're right." She grabbed her friend's drink and took a big sip. Kate didn't even bother wrestling her and just stared sadly at her disappearing drink.

"Perhaps Mr McCoy is a bad influence," she mused.

The brunette wondered who she was talking about for a moment before she choked, pulling the cup away but the bile that has risen in her throat prevented her from swallowing,and she spit it out onto the grass over the railing.

Kate burst out laughing, snatching her drink back. She took a huge gulp as her friend glared at her. The blonde pouted. "What, I was being serious!"

Anna shook her head, her hair moving with her. She sighed, looking up at the stars. "I had a dream about him."

Her friend could not have released a more girlish squeal. "Oh my gosh, tell me!"

Anna hesitated, before rolling her eyes. Hell, like she would believe her anyways. "I had a dream he left a severed head in my fridge. "

Kate pulled a face. "That's a fucked up dream, dude."

Her friend buried her chin in her palms. "You're telling me."

Except it wasn't a dream.

"Well to that," Kate started, running out of the room. Anna straightened up, curious, jumping when Kate came back with two plastic cups filled to the brim with beer. "I propose a toast."

One the cups was thrust into Anna's hands and she grabbed it, moving it away just in time to avoid spilling it all over her dress. She raised an eyebrow. "A toast to what exactly?"

Kate raised her glass high up, talking to an invisible audience. "To my best friend-"

Anna snorted in laughter. "Your only friend."

Kate continued as if she was never interrupted. "Who undoubtedly has a fucked up imagination."

The brunette rolled her eyes, her cup in the air before throwing her head back and drinking the contents in a few seconds. Kate burped and her hands flew to her mouth and she laughed in embarrassment.

Anna swayed, her eyesight failing. She managed to grab onto the balcony railing before her friend could notice. Her eyes narrowed squinting into the night.

Both of the girls were at the small house, belonging to Kate's sister's friend. It was a pale, two storey house in a poor neighbourhood.

Somewhere in the distance a window was smashed, the ringing sound echoing throughout the empty street. Anna frowned, before her eyes were blinded by a bright light.

A blue Jaguar XJ6 pulled up below them.

Kate cheered, her hand in the air as the lights dimmer and the engine purred "Yeah!" She laughed. "Hector's here!"

Anna raised an eyebrow at the tall Mexican that got out of the car, a black duffel bag around his shoulder. He looked up and waved at the girls, keys jingling in his hand. He smirked mischievously, going for the back door.

Kate turned to Anna, her eyes gleaming. "Come on, I bet he brought something fun back."

"Something fun?"

The last clear action Anna did was toast to Hector's health, and down a shot of whiskey.

.

* * *

.

Dalil Guillohrtha cackled beside me, balancing three human skulls on her shoulder to add to her collection. She stared at the young girl lying by my feet.

When she spoke, her words formed a Western accent. "Damn, humans are getting more and more foolish by the day. Stupid kid doesn't even know how much alcohol she can handle."

I rolled my eyes. "Why are you even here?"

She crouched, the skulls falling from her shoulder onto the dry ground. She poked the girl with a black claw. "Is she dead?"

Anna grunted, her head turning from side to side and her hands clutched at her neck but she soon quieted, remaining unconscious.

Dalil burst out laughing, holding her stomach. She trampled backwards, crushing the skulls she found. "She's alive! My, my, I can't wait for her reaction once she wakes up!"

I shook my head, the heavy headpiece blocking my vision for a moment. I pointed my hook at her. "Don't you dare tell anyone!"

Dalil made a motion of locking her lips shut, cackling the entire time. She cocked her head to the side, sniffing at the long forgotten human scent. "Why in the hell would you bring her here?"

Shinigamis had a curious laugh, those few that laughed anyways. They sounded like vultures, crying out in mocking delight at those starving animals, a song of warning, and the moment a creature dies they rush forward, swimming in the smell of a corpse. And if a shinigami laughs out of happiness, if they even are able to feel such a thing, the sound would be most frightening in every world created.

If you heard Beyond laugh and compared it to a shinigami, you would not find much a difference.

I shrugged sitting down. "I thought I might teach her a lesson about drinking toxic amounts of alcohol."

Dalil crossed her arms. "Boring! Who are you, her 'daddy dearest'?"

I glared, scratching at my shoulders with my sharp fingers. "Why don't you go annoy Armonia some more? It must be hard for you to be here, away from his shiny throne."

The shinigami in front of me growled and if shinigamis could pout she would be doing so. "He's busy. He's heard that Ryuk has been spreading rumours that he's fooled the Shinigami King into giving him a second note. He's looking for the bastard to tell him off."

I laughed, delighted in the echo the harsh noise created in this empty void of a world.

"Fooled the old man? Hah! I bet he found a note one of the shinigamis accidentally dropped and kept it as his own. Damn Ryuk, what is he up to?"

Dalil fiddled with the golden bead hanging from her head, frowning when she noticed it lost some of its shine. "He's always by the portal, staring at the human world like a hungry dog." She dropped the beads and pointed an index finger at my face. "And you are a liar. You always say you're not interested in the human world and yet here is one of them right in front of us. 'What is Ruyk up to, you ask?.. What are _you _up to?!"

I waved her off, crouching in front of Anna's lying form and leaning my head in my palm, sighing, waiting for her to wake up.

.

* * *

**A/N: A****ren't the Shinigamis wonderful? And don't worry, Beyond comes back in the next chapter! Review!**


	6. Enlightenment

**A/N: Review!**

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_(She is the emptiness at the back your eye.)_

.

Anna stirred, frowning at the hard soil beneath her. She blinked, her eyes opening slowly to adjust to the light. She groaned, slowly sitting up and yawned, resting on her elbows.

Noticing her surroundings she raised an eyebrow. She was in the middle of a dark, misty wasteland coloured in a greyscale gradient. The sky, the sand even the sunlight were seen as if looking through a grey filter. There were no buildings in sight, only faint bone and stone structures, and throughout the land strange orbs littered the surface.

A horn, not much different from the sound of a train blared behind her. Anna rubbed her ears, her vision still swimming and her cheeks puffy from dehydration. She sat up fully until she rested her head on one of her knees, the other leg outstretched in front of her. She licked her dry lips before coughing.

"Where the hell am I?"

The horn blared again and the ground shook beneath her.

Tiredly, she turned around, her eyes squinting into the distance.

Then she screamed.

Her eyes caught a wisp of a train before she rolled out of its way just in time to avoid being hit. She coughed as the tall and distorted structure raised dust all around her, barely noticing the train itself was made of bone.

Anna stood up, waving the dust away from her eyes. Once it cleared, she stumbled back, coughing. Her eyes squinting into the distance, she rubbed the back of her neck. The train moved on the dirty sand, no tracks in sight.

She voiced her question: "What kind of train doesn't run on tracks?"

I laughed.

Anna jumped, screaming when she saw me.

I grinned. "A train that has no destination doesn't require tracks."

She stared, eyes wide, face white as a ghost.

I bowed, my arms outstretched. "Welcome, Anna!"

She screamed again, stumbling back and even when she fell on her behind, she continued to crawl backwards away from me. I sweat-dropped.

"You should stop screaming before you attract any attention," I mumbled, scratching my forehead with my hook. "You're not really supposed to be here in the first place."

"I… You…Monster…!"

I cocked my head to the side before bursting out into laughter. "This is the most exciting thing that has happened in years!"

If there's one thing a shinigami take pleasure in – apart from gambling – it is the look of complete fear on a human's face when faced with a god of death.

My exclamation had the desired effect. Anna huffed and glared, standing up and crossing her arms. At first she was wary but soon calmed, noticing I wasn't trying to eat her or really harm her in any way.

"What- What are you?" She choked on her own words, grunting. "Ugh, I must have drank enough to kill a small animal."

In seconds I was in front of her, my skull dangerously close to her face. She pulled a face, wanting tojump away but the fear held her legs in place. She gulped, the stench emitting from me pulling at her stomach strings.

I grinned inwardly, lacing my words with viscous glee. "Tell me, if you are so content to die, why did you jump at the sight of a train?" I began.

She stuttered, falling down. "W-What are you t-talking about?"

I shook a finger at her, cocking my head to the side and crouching in front of her. "Why are you frightened of me if you yearn death?"

She did not humour me with a response. I rose to my feet, howling with laughter.

Anna was trembling with fear at the sight of me.

A bony creature doubling over backwards to the point where his head was almost lower than the back of his knees, his cackling scratching at her ears.

I straightened up, my laughter dying out but I couldn't help but occasionally twitch with merriment.

She pouted, crossing her arms. I grinned, offering her my hook. She glared. "I'm not scared!"

I grinned as she wrapped her hands around my bony hand and stood up, brushing sand off of her dress.

I giggled. "Is that right?"

She nodded. "Of course. I can't be scared of a figment of my own imagination, can I?"

I frowned, crossing my arms, slightly offended at the concept. "I'm not a part of your head."

She motioned to our surroundings with a raised eyebrow. "How can any of this be real?"

I raised my head proudly. "_This_ is the Shinigami Realm." I turned with a twirl, smoothing out the feathers with a claw. "And it _is_ real." I turned, my back to her, and began walking in a random direction, leaving any close shinigami gatherings behind us.

Anna scrambled to follow. She fell into step with me, almost having to run to keep up with my long strides. I slowed down even though it was amusing to watch her run out of breath in record speed. "Shinigami? What, like a god of death?"

I nodded. "Precisely."

"And _you_ are a so called 'God of Death' then?" For a moment she looked convincingly interested before I saw through the act. I rolled my eyes but nodded again nevertheless. "I see. And I am here because?.."

My eyes followed a ball of dust rolling across our path. Anna shielded her eyes from the sandy wind. "You have almost died."

She laughed but it died out once she realised I wasn't joking. She blocked my path, her hands outstretched. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

I sweat-dropped. "You drank a toxic amount of alcoholic beverages."

She frowned, confused. "Are you being serious right now?!"

I moved around her and continued on my way, feigning disinterest. "Of course. You humans have a much lower tolerance for alcohol than you tend to believe."

"Why do you refer to humanity as if they are a different species from you?"

I frowned, turning around. Even with me hunched she still barely reached my chest. "I already told you I'm a shini-… You don't believe anything I said to you, do you?"

She took in a deep breath, pretending to think before shaking her head. "Nope."

I rolled my eyes, scratching my head with my hook. "I have made a big mistake in bringing you here."

"Why _am_ I here?" She demanded.

"I already told you!"

She jumped at my exclamation, her eyes wide. I could hear her heartbeat quicken.

Great.

I groaned, taking a few steps towards her. She moved backwards but I reached her in two big strides. I bent closer until out eyes were level.

She gulped.

I placed a hand on her head, grinning. She flinched, liking her lips. "Am I dead?"

I shook my head.

"Are you going to kill me?"

I could have face-palmed. "Why would I kill you?"

Her eyes lingered to the left of my skull. "Because you're a monster?"

My hand dropped and I stood to my full height, looking down at her in discontent. "I already told you, I am a shinigami."

Her eyes scanned my appearance. "You don't look like a god of death."

"Really? Then how do you presume one would look like?" Humour me.

"Grimm Reaper, you know! Long black hooded cloak and a scythe and shit!" she offered. We resumed walking across the wasteland.

I surveyed her, wary. "I don't think any of us shinigamis look like that."

"You mean there's more than one of you?"

I shook my head, sighing. "And to think I presumed you were actually clever…"

"Hey!"

For a while, we walked in silence. Her unfamiliar, quick and shaky footsteps were refreshing on the soil and the footprints were blown away the second she left them.

She cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Why did you say I yearned for death?" asked Anna, then scrambled to correct herself. "You are wrong, by the way!"

"I have been watching you for a long time. I know everything about you."

She shivered, pulling a face. "That's creepy."

I snorted. "You _would _ say that."

"How come are you all... _here?"_

I shrugged. "Well there's a reason we don't usually reveal our existence to humans. Even a Death note has only been dropped to your world fewer times than the number of fingers on one of your hands. If our existence would be revealed the outcome could be catastrophic."

She drank my words in, before opening her mouth. "What's a death note?"

I grinned. "A story for another time."

She frowned. "But you haven't really told me anything, have you?"

I glanced at her from the corner of my eyes. "I have told you far more than your feeble mind can comprehend. You're simply not listening."

She waved her hands dismissively. "Ha, like I would pay attention to a dream."

I stopped, my head hung low. My feet twitched with annoyance.

That little…

She turned to me and cocked her head to the side? "Hey dude, is there something wrong with you? Your skull is all crinkled and stuff. Is it actually bone or just looks like it because bones don't do that!"

I slowly raised my hand and poked her forehead. "Visitation hours are over."

She jumped. "Eh?"

"Time to go back, kid." I poked her again, grazing the skin where my finger was. A white light surrounded us.

She yelped. "W-What the hell!? Did you just call me 'kid'? You bastard!" A wall of wind separated her from me and she fell back. "What the hell is going on?!"

Bursting out laughing, I waved her goodbye.

I continued laughing long after Anna was gone.

A tall, pale shinigami approached me, wary. Her eyes scanned me uneasily and her purple lips moved quietly. "What are you so happy about, Zerhogie?"

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* * *

.

Anna's eyes fluttered and she groaned at the bright light streaming through the windows. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, the cruel laughter of the shinigami still ringing in her ears.

She cursed inwardly, massaging the back of her neck. "I guess Kate was right about my dreams."

Anna looked around with a frown, noticing she was back at her apartment. She rubbed her ears, annoyed at the otherworldly cackling. She frowned, realising the noise wasn't quieting. If anything, it was getting louder.

Ryuzaki, clad in black clothing, was sitting on her desk, doubled over in laughter.

She jumped to her feet, seething with anger. She pointed a finger at his face, snarling. "You!"

Ryuzaki grinned, calming down. "It's wonderful to see you too, Miss Nixon."

She took a threatening step towards him.

"You left a severed head in my fridge. Who the hell does that?!"

Ryuzaki frowned, his thumb pushing down on his bottom lip. "I had to make sure you wouldn't go to the police."

"You threatened to kill me. A simple note would have sufficed!"

He hopped down to her desk chair, sitting in that peculiar way of his, his knees to his chest, and tapped the table with his bony fingers before spinning around in circles. "Boring."

Anna's left eye twitched. She took slow and predatory step toward him, her eyes set on his revolving form.

"You left a head in my fridge. I could have been traumatised!"

He rolled his eyes. "But you weren't," he sang.

"A _human_ head!"

Her vision swam and she wavered on her feet, coming to rest on the desk next to Ryuzaki. He stopped spinning, slowly, until he faced her.

Slowly and unsurely he sniffed the air before pulling a face. "You stink of alcohol. When I found you at your friend's house I assumed you consumed a large amount but I didn't think it was this bad.

She pulled at her hair in disbelief. "What the_ fuck _ is wrong with you!?"

Within seconds, Ryuzaki transformed. Anna's back painfully hit the wall and for a moment her eyes failed her. She gritted her teeth, glaring at Ryuzaki. "Let go of me!"

He bared his teeth, his lower arm pressing against her neck, having pinned her against the wall. "Shut up."

She moved against his grip, kicking at his legs. "Let-"

"I said shut up!"

Anna gaped, stunned. Ryuzaki moved back, his grip leaving her and she slid to the ground, her hands to her ears. "Fuck, I'm deaf!"

He crouched in front of her. His right hand raised to her head and stroked a loose strand of hair. Slowly, the hair fell back into place, the back of his hand leaving a cold trail on the side of her face until his index finger lifted her head by the chin.

Anna's eyes looked everywhere but him.

"Look at me!"

She flinched and slowly her eyes met his. He smiled slowly. She gulped.

"Now, he began," his teeth glinting, "Let's get you cleaned up, A."

Anna frowned, annoyed at the nickname but then her eyes saw the expression on Ryuzaki's face. A strange sense of dread and sadness pulled at the corner of his lips.

He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her up, leading her towards her bed.

Beyond was not oblivious to what he said. He realised the slip up the moment the name left his lips and he cursed inwardly. Hatred burned at the back of his head and his grip tightened around Anna to the point she cried out in pain.

L.

He was going to pay.

A was the closest person to a friend that he had, and the two barely talked, busy with the assigned tasks.

Beyond's _only_ friend.

And the pressure to become a replacement, to become _him_ destroyed A. Beyond knew he would die soon. He knew every time that the pressure ate at A, he counted down the days until A committed suicide.

Beyond and A were different. A was clever, but he was sensitive, insecure. Beyond was brilliant and deviant and he didn't want to be a copy of L.

He wanted to be better.

He w_as_ better.

Anna winced when Ryuzaki anything but dropped her on the bed. His eyes glanced at the side of her head, surprised when he saw a look of concern on her face.

He raise an eyebrow. "What?"

Anna immediately shook her head, averting her eyes. "Nothing." She swallowed, looking down at her feet. "Did you have to kill him? The man whose head you left in my fridge?"

Ryuzaki glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, nibbling on his lip. "He would have died anyways."

The brunette glared at him, grabbing his upper arm when he moved to leave. "That's not good enough a reason. I will die one day too, so why don't you kill _me_?"

He frowned, shaking her hand away. "It's different. He was supposed to die the exact moment I killed him."

Anna shook her head rising to her feet to stand in front of him. She glared up at him. "You can't know that! How can you possibly know when a person is supposed to die?"

Ryuzaki's eyes flickered to above Anna's head, so briefly she barely noticed it. "I just do."

She stepped back, shaking her head and scoffed. "You're insane."

Ryuzaki took a step towards her and the girl in front of him backed away, the back of her legs hitting the bed. His wide eyes bored into hers, his lips twisted into a smile. He turned his head so far he was almost staring at her upside down, like an owl. "You're only realising that now?"

She smiled mockingly. "No, I kinda figured that the moment you tied me to a chair. I just hoped I was overreacting."

He laughed, twirling before stopping, hunched, his thumb to his lips. "You amuse me."

Anna rolled her eyes, bowing. "Glad to provide a sufficient amount of entertainment."

Ryuzaki grinned. "Well, you better get some rest because tomorrow we have an interesting day."

He skipped away to the kitchen area. Anna followed him uncertainly. "Uh... What?" She popped her head over the side of the wall, clearing her throat. "What do you mean by 'an interesting day'?"

Ryuzaki smirked at her over his shoulder, pulling out a jar of strawberry jam from the fridge. "You'll see."

.


	7. Tonight's the Night

**A/N: I'm so glad people are enjoying this! And yes, I don't think there's a train in the Shinigami Realm originally but it was just an idea I HAD to put in once it has crossed my mind. I thought it would give more strangeness to the barren place. Although I imagined it more like a giant snake-like train made of bones slithering across the land (okay I'll stop before I actually scare myself).  
Review!**

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_(Her mother is the goddess of the night…)_

Anna tapped her fingers on the table between her and Ryuzaki impatiently, her head on her palm. "What are we doing here?"

Ryuzaki shushed her, a finger to his lips, before continuing to lap up the sweet coffee he made, his eyes focused on a lone man at the back of the café, typing away at his laptop. Anna frowned, just watching him consume what she was sure contained two hundred grams of pure sugar left a sickly feeling at the back of her throat. She cleared her throat and took a sip of her orange flavoured milkshake.

Soft jazz music played silently around them. Ryuzaki had chosen that particular café because there were very few people inside and the cameras in the top corner were toys, merely for show. Once he sat down opposite the man sitting in the corner he never turned his head away from him.

Anna leaned towards him, her chin resting on the edge of her glass, a straw obscuring her vision. "Don't you think he might have noticed you staring at him? The reason for which is still unknown to me, by the way."

Ryuzaki put his mug down and brought his thumb to his lips nibbling on the nail. "I have been trailing his moves for five days now and not once has he looked at me twice. He's not suspicious in the least."

Anna gaped, shaking her head in disbelief. "What- What do you mean you have been following him?"

Ryuzaki rolled his eyes at the girl. "That _is_ what I just said."

"_Why_ exactly are you following him?"

Ryuzaki lowered one of his legs from the chair simply to kick Anna's knees below the table. Anna yelped, bowing her head in embarrassment when people turned to her at the sound. But soon they went back to what they were doing and Anna looked up, glaring at him through her eyelashes.

"I will kill him."

Anna blinked, not sure whether she heard him right. "Did you just say that you're going to kill him?"

The black haired man smirked, his eyes on the middle aged man. "Please don't talk so loudly, I would be extremely disappointed if my plan was foiled before I had the opportunity to carry it out. But the answer to your unnecessary question is 'yes'.

Anna sneered, struggling to keep her voice down. "And what makes you think I will let that happen?"

Ryuzaki laughed, like a schoolboy and took one of Anna's hands before she had the chance to pull it away. An elderly woman sitting a few tables down smiled at the endearing sight, her eyes shining. Ryuzaki stroked Anna's wrist with his thumb and she swallowed uncomfortably.

"Not only will you let that happen," he began with a sinister smile, putting Anna's hand gently on the table before bringing his palms to rest on his knees, bringing both of his legs to his chest, "you will also help me."

Anna shook her head, horrified. "I will _not_ help you kill another human being!"

Ryuzaki pulled at his lip, his teeth grinding, his voice annoyed. "Miss Nixon, don't act like you have never done anything similarly immoral in your life because we both know that it is not the case."

Anna froze, the breath stuck in her throat. She swallowed, sitting back in her chair. Her whole body felt stiff and it took her three deep breaths before she was able to talk again, now a small shy smile on her face.

Ryuzaki's eyes left the middle aged man in the corner and cocked his head to the side, surprised at the calm and inviting look on her face.

She folded her arms, tapping the fingers on her forearm and crossed her legs one over the other. "I am not sure I recall the event to which you are referring."

Ryuzaki rolled his eyes. "I am not your therapist, drop the act."

Anna sulked, pouting. She kicked Ryuzaki's chair, annoyed when all it did was startle him a little. "It still doesn't mean you have the right to kill him!"

He glared at her. "Did you also think that way when you killed _him?"_

She glared back, tripping over her own words, waving a dark memory away. "T-That was different!"

Ryuzaki leaned towards her, his voice barely above a whisper. "That worthless man, sitting in the corner will die tomorrow whether I kill him or not. They will most likely not find his body for days. I will transform his measly existence and give him a purpose."

The medical student scoffed, throwing her hair over her shoulder, having stopped listening by the time he finished the first sentence. "Oh god, are you still on about that?"

Ryuzaki turned, fully facing her. He rested both of his arms on the table, lacing his fingers together. "Would you believe me if I told you that whenever I look at a man's face I see not only his true name, but the exact date and time he will die above his head?"

Anna pretended to think. "No. I would call the men in the white coats and have you committed to a specialised institution." She smiled mockingly, that same smile dropping when she realised he hadn't been affected by her remark. A slow, tense minute passed before she frowned, dropping her head low. "You're serious?"

"Why would I lie to you?" He cocked his head to the side.

Anna slumped in her seat. "I'll just treat that as a rhetorical question." She took in a deep breath, her eyes travelling to the man on his laptop, oblivious to the fact that he has been the topic of a rather gruesome conversation the entire time.

She frowned as realisation dawned upon her. The dream she had last night… It was real? It couldn't be! Anna's head swam with confusion, trying to sort through all the strange and otherworldly occurrences she has experienced recently. First a bony monster in the middle of a sandy wasteland claiming to be a god of death, then Ryuzaki says he can see the date of death everywhere around him. Not even to mention her only point of stability, Dr Ellen Foveaux was officially out of her life thanks to her parents who after ruining her day drove off with a wave of a hand.

She huffed, puffing out a breath of air, feeling exhausted.

Then suddenly she grinned, jumping in her seat like an excited child, her eyes shining. "Tell me when I am supposed to die!"

Ryuzaki's eyes widened, a little shocked before he recovered, shaking his head. "I won't do that."

The girl in front of him crossed her arms like a disappointed child. "Aw, fine." The black haired man bowed his head, resting his chin on his knees. "I feel sorry for you a little though."

He raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Anna crossed her arms on the desk in front of her and rested her head on top. She looks up at him. "Well, if what you're saying is true: your whole life you have been surrounded by death. Everywhere you looked there loomed a reminder of mortality. You would know the day you grandparent would die, or a parent, or a best friend-"

"He's leaving." Ryuzaki interrupted, and jumped to his feet, already a few tables down on the way to leave out of the door, the man he was following looking both directions as he crossed the street.

Anna pouted, downing the last of her milkshake and scrambling to follow him, muttering under her breath the entire time. "Oh yes, just brush it off. I go out of my way to be sympathetic to a homicidal maniac and all it does is go into one ear and come out through another."

* * *

Anna stopped at a red light, her gloved hands resting on the steering wheel of a stolen vehicle. Ryuzaki sat next to her with his knees to his chest, sulking like a child as a result of ten minutes prior, when Anna crossed her arms and refused to drive them anywhere until he put on his seat-belt.

If Beyond wasn't tired from injecting a man twice his size with an animal tranquilizer and dragging him to the boot of the car he stole, he would have killed her then and there.

She tapped her fingers. "Did you ever wonder that they 'would have died anyways' is because you are the sole reason they have died in the first place?"

Ryuzaki ignored her, his eyes focused on the road ahead of them. Three teenagers walked past, whistling at the car. "Nice ride, dude."

As Anna gave them a tight smile, the man in the passenger's seat beside her simply stuck out his tongue at the younger boys. They scattered away, footballs tucked under their armpits and their faces contorted in frowns.

Anna gave Ryuzaki a sideways glance, releasing a sigh of relief when the light turned green.

"What's the address again?"

Ryuzaki didn't even take a second to answer. "221 Insist St., Hollywood."

Anna nodded, turning a sharp left and when her companion's shoulder hit the door painfully he almost felt grateful she made him wear the safety belt.

The brunette hummed as she scanned the street carefully, her hair up in a tight bun so none would come loose. Ryuzaki thought she looked older that way, dressed in a pair of dark skinny jeans and a black, long sleeved shirt, a pair of combat boots on her feet.

She frowned. "What is his name again? Benjamin Breadwinner?"

Ryuzaki rolled his eyes. "Did you even try?.." He shook his head when she didn't answer and instead simply smirked. "Believe Bridesmaid. He's a freelance writer and has written articles for dozens of magazines under many different names-"

Anna waved him off. "Yes, yes he's relatively known in the industry. His name sounded familiar when you first said it." She turned another sharp corner and Ryuzaki started to doubt her driving skills.

"You need to drive carefully; I don't want any bruises on the corpse."

Anna raised an eyebrow. Corpse? They guy wasn't dead yet!

In response she scoffed, throwing her hands in the air. "Oh yes of course. Why, it would be a disaster! Here's a suggestion: why don't you next time, pick a victim who isn't six feet tall and over two hundred pounds!"

Ryuzaki groaned, face palming. "It can't be just anyone! He has to die today, and his name has to fit!"

Anna waved him off, Ryuzaki yelling at her to keep her hands on the wheel; a command she pointedly ignored. "Yes, we've been through all this before. First murder: 31st of July. Why didn't you give me the dates for other murders? Do you not trust me?"

No response.

She sighed, rolling her eyes. "Right, stupid question… Believe Bridesmaid. Are all your victims going to have initials B.B. and be drugged? Oh, and did you really mean what you say about wiping the entire house off of fingerprints? It sounds exhausting."

Ryuzaki nibbled on his thumbnail. "The details are essential."

Anna glanced at him in the rear view window. "'_The devil is in the details'. _Are those _details_ part of your M.O. then?"

"M.O?"

She nodded. "Yeah, you know: Modus Operandi – your mode of operation."

"I know what M.O. stands for!" He objected, offended.

Anna laughed, grinning. "You know that makes you a serial killer, right?"

"I'm not a serial killer." He growled the words as if the very term burned at his tongue.

"Well evidently you are. And you're about to become one officially too." Anna wondered how long it would take for the police to figure out it was a serial killing. After the second, third murder?

Ryuzaki glared. "I don't kill because I enjoy it."

Anna scoffed. "Could have fooled me… Look, I am being an accessory to murder. If I get arrested after all this is over it would most likely help my case to plead that I was being made to do so. Well, I kind of am but…" her voice trailed off and she chanced a look at his face, frowning at the anger it emitted. "I guess what I'm saying is: it would make it easier, for _me_, if I know _why."_

"I will create the biggest case _he_ has ever faced."

For a moment Anna wanted to ask who he meant by 'he' but she let the thought fade. "So revenge, then?"

Ryuzaki cocked his head to the side, smirking. "Miss Nixon, are you trying to justify my actions?"

She violently shook her head, her expression grave. "No, I am not. You can't justify an act of killing, Ryuzaki. It's wrong and it is immoral and if there's such a place as Hell, you will burn there for the rest of eternity."

"When you put it that way, it's hardly a wonder why you need a therapist, Anna."

Anna stomped on the breaks, Believe Bridesmaid's house directly to their left. "What is that supposed to mean?" If Ryuzaki wasn't wearing a seatbelt, he would have flown through the front windshield.

He shrugged. "If killers burn in hell, you already have a reserved cauldron with your name." He pulled his own pair of gloves on and opened the door, reaching over to undo the seat-belt. He met her eyes, offering her a smile before exiting the car, reaching for the syringe in the back pocket of his jeans.

Anna sighed, letting her head hit the back of her seat. Through the rear view mirror she observed Ryuzaki open the boot and reach in, most likely to inject Believe Bridesmaid again. Enough to keep him unconscious until the early morning.

The sun has set and the sky was turning a dark blue, soon to be enveloped in complete darkness. Anna pulled at her bottom lip, frowning. "I suppose were are not much different then."


	8. Tooth Fairy

**A/N: Murder, Murder, Murder, Murder. ****Review!****  
**(p.s.::TheBlackFeatherGirl- Hey there! No, it's not vital for you to have read LABB Murder Case novel as in this story I will be mentioning the main points to do with Beyond (and describe the cases with as much detail provided as I can). But if you wish to (and don't mind the outcome of Beyond's fate being spoiled) I do recommend at least looking it up because the novel is amazing and hilarious and explores so much about not only Naomi Misora's (who is awesome and kicks so much ass) past but also Wammy's House and L himself.

* * *

_(…and alone she spawned a brood of dark spirits.)_

Anna let out a heavy breath, wiping the sweat off her forehead. She turned to Ryuzaki with a glare. "Aren't you going to help me?"

Ryuzaki hummed, treading up the stairs, a cleaning wipe in his gloved hand. He held it in his hands and stared at the dust as if it was an insect.

A misty ray of sunshine drifted through the window above them. The pair have spent an entire night wiping the house clean of any fingerprints. Well, mainly Ryuzaki. Anna spent most of the time staring at him as he wiped the surfaces with OCD precision, and the moment he unscrewed the light bulbs and wiped the sockets was when she decided there was not a bone of sanity in him.

Anna huffed, glaring. "Fine," she spat out, picking up Believe Bridesmaid by his forearms and resuming dragging the body up the stairs of Believe Bridesmaid's home. "Let me do all the heavy lifting, won't you."

Ryuzaki rolled his eyes, coming to a stop beside her. Anna sighed in relief, glad he finally decided to help her but much to her dismay instead of picking up the other side of the body, Ryuzaki simply took off the black duffel bag he had around his shoulders and took out a book, weighing it in his hands.

The girl beside him squinted, barely managing to read the title. _Insufficient Relaxation by Permit Winter. _She gaped when realisation dawned on her and she dropped the body on the ground with a loud thud. Believe grunted, but remained unconscious.

She pointed a finger at Ryuzaki, her eyes on the book he was inspecting, held in front of his face by his thumb and index finger. "T-That's mine!"

Ryuzaki's eyes flashed to her face, his lips quirking upwards. All Anna could do was watch him race up to the second storey of the house, caught between whether to chase after him and demand for her book back but risk the body sliding down the stairs in the process, undoing all of her hard work. In the end she glared, cursing the man under her breath and pulled the body the rest of the way up the stairs.

Anna dropped Believe Bridesmaid on the floor of his bedroom and collapsed against the wall, slowly sliding to the ground, catching her breath.

She took the time to observe Believe Bridesmaid's bedroom. The entire house seemed too large for a single man living alone. The bedroom itself had a thumb turn lock and opened inward - something Anna was thankful for as she couldn't imagine having to pull the door open while holding Believe's body upright. The room was not overly large but there was little furniture therefore it wasn't cramped. A big bed in the middle with a few bookshelves, filled with how-to books for different leisure activities and some famous Japanese comics, in the original language rather than the translated version.

In Anna's eyes, Believe Bridesmaid was a man who separated work from private life – a little strange for freelance or writers in general. His bedroom was exclusively for relaxation.

Behind her, Ryuzaki threw open the wardrobe, taking out a shirt Believe always slept in and placed it next to the body, throwing his white button down into the laundry basket once he undressed him.

Anna turned, spying him leaving the body, taking out handfuls of heavy books from the bag– he has been collecting them as they cleaned the house – and wiping their covers down once more, moving on to cleaning the bookshelf. When he did so, he proceeded to clean every page of the books currently in the bookshelf. Then he filled the shelves alphabetically, pilling the books so tight they seemed to almost burst through the seams. Then he removed two volumes of _Azazukin Chacha_, a popular Japanese comic book and stuffed _Insufficient Relaxation _in its rightful place in the alphabet.

"Hey!" Anna rose to her feet, annoyed. She marched over to the bookshelf, her eyes holding Ryuzaki's gaze the entire time and pulled on her book, frowning when it didn't come out smoothly. She spent the next two minutes trying to get her book from the bookshelf before the task proved itself impossible and she stumbled back, barely catching her balance.

She brushed it off, waving the event away, glaring at Ryuzaki's amused face. "Whatever. I didn't even like it."

Ryuzaki chuckled, cracking his fingers. "You haven't even read it."

Ana ignored him, instead focusing on the other books in the bookshelves.

He wrapped a thick stringy rope around his hands before suddenly attacking Believe Bridesmaid's neck. Anna jumped in alarm, her eyes wide but she was not able to bring herself to move. She just stood there as Ryuzaki's face turned a mild shade of purple and he bit his lip, his knuckles white with the force of tightening the rope around the victim's neck.

The writer's body convulsed, instinctively gasping for air, his eyes shooting open just a second too late. His arms shook, fingers clenching before he stilled and the last breath left his body his eyelids dropping closed. Ryuzaki loosened the rope, checking the neck and the wrist for a pulse and finding none he unceremoniously dropped the body face down. Pocketing the rope he picked up the body and dragging to the bed left him laying on his back.

Anna stared.

He raised an eyebrow. "You look surprised."

"I am." And she wasn't lying. In all honesty she didn't expect Ryuzaki to attack the body while he was still unconscious. Not that she was disappointed. She was dreading the moment Ryuzaki would actually kill him, an arrangement of gruesome scenarios playing themselves in her head.

Would he have wakened Believe Bridesmaid before killing him? Would he relish in the look of fear on his victim's face? Would he have given him a few minutes to pointlessly beg for his life before slinging the string around his neck, staring at his eyes the entire time to pin point the exact moment his soul left the body?

Apparently not.

If anything, Anna was almost relieved. She wasn't sure how she would have reacted to a violent death.

Still, she couldn't help from her next words escaping her mouth. "That was rather… anti climatic."

Ryuzaki grinned a sadistic smile. He reached over to the back of his jeans and took out a small folding knife, the blade glinting in the morning sun. "Well the fun is just beginning."

And there came the regret of Anna's said words.

Ryuzaki threw the knife to her and Anna yelped, scrambling to catch it, sighing in relief when she didn't cut herself in the process. She caught her breath, glaring at him. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

He didn't look her way, already pulling out a new packet of wipes and with them attacking the wardrobe.

"I need you to carve a series of roman numerals on his chest. Since you are quiet skilled in an autopsies, I need you try and make them appear sloppy. We can't have them suspecting a killer with medical training."

She opened and shut her mouth, clearing her throat. When she spoke next, she laced her words with sarcasm. "You forgot to mention that getting caught was a part of your plan."

Ryuzaki's head tilted towards her to find her glaring at him. He rolled his eyes. "We will not get caught."

Anna scoffed. "Really?" She leaned over the body, staring down at it but made no move to do as she was told. "You just told me to leave some sort of message on the corpse, I ain't a simpleton, Ryuzaki!"

Ryuzaki growled, his voice rising. "Just do as I say!"

Anna flinched, before sighing and pulling a face at his back. She looked down at the body, tightening the grip around the knife. "Right," she muttered to herself, leaning close until she could almost smell him. She placed the knife against his chest, swallowing down the lump in her throat when the first drop of blood was split and dropped down on the bed sheets. "Just like you were taught in class. Steady hands."

Once Ryuzaki made sure Anna was ready he called out the numbers at half a minute intervals, almost impressed with the short, precise and slightly jagged - to his request - cuts she made. Not once did she stop to ask how to write a certain number, something that almost surprised him.

"16, 59, 1423."

XVI, LIX, MCDXXIII.

Anna took in a deep breath, steadying her hands. If Believe bridesmaid was still alive when she was told to carve up his chest, she would have most likely ran out of the house at Ryuzaki's request.

"159, 13, 7, 582."

CLIX, XIII, VII, DLXXXII.

But a dead body was less troublesome, mentally as well as physically. If she focused, she could manage to see it as nothing more but another exercise.

"724, 1001, 40, 51."

DCCXXIV, MI, XL, LI.

The blood pooled underneath the dead body and soaked the white sheets a bright, rich crimson. Anna's breath hitched in her throat. In the medical room, the blood would be on a metal desk with a draining system. Believe Bridesmaid's body was left to soak in its own juice, like a duck in preparation of a roast.

"And thirty one." Ryuzaki mumbled the last number, grinning at the work. He dropped a wet wipe on the floor and approached the bed, a sadistic glint in his eyes. Anna carved the last number, her face contorted in anger. Her companion took the knife from her the second she was done, not even wiping it clean as he placed in his back pocket.

He picked up the pyjama shirt from the floor and pulled it over the body, blood soaking through the moment it touched skin. For a moment, roman numerals shone against a light grey before becoming one big stain of red.

XXXI.

Anna stepped back, her eyes scanning her handy work. A heavy feeling built in her stomach and she frowned, coughing. She looked down at the body and screamed, jumping back, for two ghostly eyes stared at her in horror and a pair of lips mouthed "Help me."

As soon as the vision came it was gone. Believe Bridesmaid's eyes were closed, his mouth blue, a raw line around his neck. He lay limply, as a wet rag thrown on a radiator, his body falling into every crack as if his bones have disappeared from inside.

Anna heaved, her hands scratching at her throat and ran towards the bathroom, emptying what little of her stomach contents were left after a sleepless night into the toilet. She groaned, flushing the chain but remained convulsed over the structure for a few minutes before she had the energy to stand. Immediately she rushed towards the sink, swallowing water in choking gulps to wash away the harsh taste of stomach acid. She took in a couple of deep breaths, scrubbing at her face and rising to full height, staring at her reflection in the mirror.

Bloodshot eyes framed with dark circles stared back at her, dry lips sneering. Anna shook her head, using her shirt to wipe her face dry and took slow, shaky steps back to the bedroom.

She failed to notice the two red drops that were flushed away amidst the undigested food.

When she came back, Ryuzaki was nailing the last of the Wara Ningyo to the wall. Four in total, one of them nailed to the wall directly opposite the door.

She didn't even bother to question _why_.

Ryuzaki collected their stuff into the bag and pushed her out of the room, a thin string already at his hands. He pulled it under the door, in the process of creating a locked room.

Anna didn't understand why. Only an idiot would have assumed that murder is suicide for the cuts on the victims chest were clearly post-mortem.

The numbers that were clearly a message.

A message to whom?

Who was Ryuzaki avenging and why?

She stood there, staring at the locked door in front of her, guilt overtaking her senses. She pulled off her gloves, running a hand through her hair, letting a few strands loose.

She shook her head, muttering under her breath. "I am going to hell."

Beyond tilted his head, adjusting the strap on his shoulder. He cleared his throat, attempting to get Anna's attention, frowning when it didn't work.

"We should leave." Anna didn't budge. Ryuzaki took a step towards her, poking her in the shoulder. "Now."

Anna turned to him, slowly. At first, judging from the look in her eyes Ryuzaki had an unbearable urge to run. Run from her as fast as he could. She glared through his skull, through the wall behind him. For a moment her eyes were empty, unfocused, the pupils shrinking before returning to normal in the dimmed light.

She didn't hit him. She didn't yell. Instead she gave him a pained glare and shook her head, walking past him and down the stairs, each footstep echoing through the empty house, a dark cackling ringing in her ears.


	9. Chemical Imbalance

**A/N: I really hate writing ill thoughts about L but this is Beyond we're talking about and only in our own desperate minds exists a universe where they are friends.  
****Review!**

* * *

_(Every night she lays a comforting veil of mist upon the world…)_

_._

"…_the man responsible for rape and murder of seventeen women in Colombi__a has been identified as Andre Barbosa, a 47 year old male from Mexico. The Colombian authorities managed to catch the predator only after having enlisted the help of the acclaimed mysterious detective, Eraldo Coil_…"

Beyond breathed out heavily, the ceiling spinning. He yawned, sticking his leg out, barely wincing when it hit the edge of the desk and he sharply slowed to a stop.

When his world came into focus, Anna sat in the centre, hugging her knees. She stared at the television screen in front of her, the pale light illuminating her face a light blue, and her eyes were wide, unblinking.

The clock read 9:17pm.

Ryuzaki frowned, pulling at his bottom lip. "You haven't moved from that particular spot in 6 hours and 48 minutes."

Anna threw him an irritated glare from the corner of her eyes as her lips moved around two words, barely louder than the sound of the television. "Shut up."

Beyond rolled his eyes. "Are you seriously still upset about the whole thing? It's been two days!"

Anna shook her head, grabbing a remote from by her side on the floor and furiously jabbing at the buttons, continuously turning the channels over.

"…_the Global Warming catastrophe is finally being recognised as a crisis that cannot be ignored… _"

She reached behind her and pulled a pink blanket around her, resting her chin on her knees. Grabbing a remote, she pressed the sideways arrow.

"…_Two young boys have been found dead by the train tracks in the South District, an apparent suicide. The Los Angeles Police Department is looking for Daniel Abraham, a person of interest in the case_…"

Anna huffed, blinking heavily when the screen blurred. She changed the channel again, her hand wavering in the air when she saw the man on screen. Captain of the Washington State Police Department's blue eyes stared sombrely at the audience, multiple cameras flashing blindingly.

"…_Latvia's Vice-President has confirmed rumours that Riga's Police Force will be requesting the help of L in the case globally known as_-"

Beyond's eyes widened before they flared with anger. With a snarl, bearing his teeth like a feral predator he grabbed the nearest thing his right hand could reach – an empty coffee mug- and pitched it at the television.

The cup flew, the air whistling around it and smashed straight into the middle of the screen, the black box going blank and then exploding within half a second.

Well, a rather petty explosion: a few sparks and a loud bang, smoke and burnt smell emitting from the device.

Anna yelped, jumping to her feet and scattering away from the broken glass. She whirled to Beyond with a glare, her loose hair wrapping uncomfortably around her neck. "What the hell?!"

He grit his teeth. "I didn't like the program that was on."

The girl looked around in disbelief, scoffing. "Well I sincerely don't mean to be the bringer of bad news but televisions,and their remotes, tend to have an _off button_!" She waved the remote at him before throwing it over her shoulder, running a hand through the hair.

Beyond ignored her, pacing throughout the room and gritting his teeth so tightly Anna could almost hear them cracking.

L.

He is everywhere.

Always in the background.

Like a pest hiding in the corner waiting for you to leave until he can feed on the crumbs on the ground.

Anna took shaky steps towards him, tightening the blanket around herself. Ryuzaki was shaking, mumbling under his breath, pulling at his hair.

She took in a deep breath and bit her lip, placing an unsure hand on his shoulder. "Are you al-"

"I am better than him!"

Anna jumped away, eyes wide before she glowered, scowling. She adjusted the blanket, her chin held high. "Better than whom?"

"Better than _L_!" he roared, his eyes crazed, spitting the name out as if it was the most difficult thing to do.

Anna raised an eyebrow, tilting her head to the side. She freed one of her hands from the blanket fort and scratched her head. For a moment, she wondered what kind of name is 'L' before she remembered. "L? As in L: the world's greatest detective?"

Beyond's hands clenched at her words, ready to strangle her but then he calmed, a questioning look in his eyes. "You know who he is?" His voice was low, testing.

Anna snorted rolling her eyes as she walked away, heading towards the kitchen. She shed her blanket on the chair, leaving herself with only a baggy black t-shirt and a pair of pyjama shorts. She yawned as her stomach rumbled.

"Of course I know who he is," she said, throwing Ryuzaki a glance over her shoulder. She opened the fridge, frowning when she was met by nothing but strawberry jam. Closing it shut she opened the freezer, smiling when she saw a pizza. "A month of my course was focused directly on introducing forensics to my class. L came up once or twice in the topic, the law-geeks couldn't keep their mouths shut about him."

She took the frozen food product and turned around, yelping and dropping it to the floor when she came to face with Ryuzaki. She crossed her arms with as much dignity as she could after the cowardly display, avoiding his eyes.

Ryuzaki stared at her, waiting for her to meet his eyes, only speaking once she did. "What do you know about him?"

Anna shrugged and picked up the pizza packet from the floor and placed it on a counter by the sink. "Not much. Only that he's some super-smart detective or something, that has never failed a case no matter how difficult. Apparently he only takes weird ones. Oh, and I do know that he has never showed his face in public before."

Ryuzaki hummed, a thumb to his lips, squinting.

Anna gave him a slow smile, a smile that slowly dropped.

…!

Realisation dawned upon her and she gaped, eyes wide. Ryuzaki observed, humorously that she look like a fish gasping for air. Anna shook her head, words failing her. "It's him!" She jumped a few steps back, pointing an index finger at Ryuzaki's face and he had the biggest urge to slap the limb away. "Y-You're creating a case for him! For L!" She laughed, the sound harsh and unnatural. "Well in that case, no wonder you need my help. You've got your work cut out for you if you want to prove you're better than _him_!"

Within seconds, Beyond held her by the neck in his left hand, and his pocketknife glinted before it was pressed against her throat. Anna gasped, choking. She kicked, wincing when his grip tightened. She scratched at his arms, anything to try to free herself from his grip, soon giving up and choking for air, limp in his hold.

She felt the cold edge of the knife against her skin, just below his hold.

Beyond leaned so close their noses brushed, his look murderous and he spat his words out with a hungry desperation in his voice.

"You think I'm a monster? Then you don't know L. You fools think he's the smartest man in the world; some would agree, without a doubt even L himself. But none of you know who he really is. He's a man who will stop at nothing to get what he needs, no matter who is harmed in the process.

"L realised one day that he needed a contingency in case he is killed during one of his cases. A backup. Somebody who could resume his work after he was gone. So a friend of his established an orphanage for 'special' children: Wammy's House.

"The first child was called A. He was bright, he really was." His eyes glazed over, as if a memory was running through his mind. Anna found a string of strength to attempt to kick his legs from underneath him, only to find his grip tightened. She flailed, gripping his arm to keep herself from passing out. "But the pressure and the stress placed on him to become L's successor was too much to handle and he committed suicide. The second child, was Beyond Birthday, though they called him B. All his life he was able to see the death of others. Everywhere he looked: death, death and more death. He knew the day his mother died in the train crash and the day his father would be killed in a robbery gone wrong. He counted down the days until A died, not being able to do anything because you can't change the numbers above a person's head. B ran away, you see. He left Wammy's house because he realised he didn't want to be a successor to L while all he felt towards him was hatred. L's 'Backup' ran away from the orphanage, owing to himself to become better than L and to show it to the detective himself.

"And you know what? L doesn't care. Many more children will enter through the doors of that orphanage and who knows how many more countless opportunities for life he will destroy in search of a successor for himself, especially when he knows he doesn't believe any of them to match up to him."

Anna winced in pain as the knife pierced her skin and a thin line of blood flowed, shutting her eyes. Even after Ryuzaki finished speaking, his voice carried, like a hiss of a snake.

A ring blared through the appartment. Then another. Anna stopped struggling, straining her head to try and locate the source.

Slowly, Ryuzaki turned towards the phone on Anna's desk. The white device rang again and again until a loud beep blared, and Kate's voice drifted through the speaker.

"_Hey, Anna, it's Kate! Just checking in whether everything's alright! Hector told me you left with Tom the morning after the party, so I know you're safe… Anyways, the reason why I'm really calling is that you haven't been at work for the last few days and our boss is being a bitch about it. So uh, let me know whether you're ill or anything or just decided to run away with Tom – and I really hope it's the latter rather than you being dead in a ditch somewhere… So yeah… Call me! Oh and by the way, get a frickin' cellphone so we normal people could reach you, alright?"_

Ryuzaki dropped Anna and she fell to the side, managing to catch her balance on the kitchen counter. She gasped, taking deep breaths to try and return her breathing to normal. She rested her forehead on her arms, sighing.

He pocketed the knife and stood straight, frowning before scowling and storming out of the apartment, making a show of slamming the door behind him.

And came back half an hour later, carrying a box of Chinese take-away that he unceremoniously dropped in front of Anna –who was leaning over the window, breathing the fresh air the night time provided- and stalked over to her bed burying himself in her sheets.

"Beyond. Beyond Birthday, that's you." Ryuzaki didn't respond but it didn't bother her. "It all links. I understand now. The numbers, the names of the victims and the clues leading to the next crime scene to be. L will know it was you – but that's the whole point isn't it? You… You're mocking him. You are hitting him where it hurts the most for someone like him: his pride. He will not be able to solve this case officially – whatever its outcome – without exposing your past... his past. He has never failed to solve a case he has taken and this time you will force him to take this case without being able to seal its file."

She turned around, staring at his unmoving form. "That's your punch line."

Beyond didn't move but underneath the covers, savouring the warmness of the sheets he was split between whether feel surprised or annoyed that she has figured it out, even if not down to the detail. He bit his thumb, muttering to himself so low his voice was a whisper and went unheard by Anna who picked up the food he brought back and curiously ripped it open.

"Something like that."

* * *

Anna groaned, her head in her palms, her elbows on her knees in front of her. Birds chirping above her did nothing more than increase the roaring headache she already had.

Beyond rolled his eyes, leaning back on the park bench, moving the baseball cap a little lower over his eyes. He looked down at her as Anna released another loud groan, smirking. "The garbage bin is ten feet down to your right if you feel like you will be sick again."

She waved him off, immediately regretting the action when it made her head swim. "No, no I'm fine," she groaned, rubbing her eyes. "Totally fine. It's just that take-away from last night."

Beyond rolled his eyes. "I've had it plenty of times before and I was never sick, let alone as violently as you were this morning. For a moment I thought you were trying to break the record for regurgitating the largest amount of stomach acid in an hour." He cackled and his laughter reminded her of the shinigami encounter and she moved to cover her ears.

Anna growled, attempting to punch him with her eyes closed but missing him by a yard, only managing to make him laugh harder. "Shut up! That wasn't funny!"

Beyond shook his head, quieting down, scanning the playground in front of them. "I thought it was." The girl beside him attempted to punch him again… failing.

"What are we doing here anyways?" she asked, swallowing the bile that kept rising in her throat.

Beyond grinned despite the fact she couldn't see him. "To meet my next victim who is right in front of you at this very moment."

Anna sighed heavily and rubbed her face before looking up, hoping it's not another man twice her size.

Her eyes widened and the pupil shrank, fear raising a lump in her throat, and the unbearable urge to vomit returned twice-fold.

In front of them, an oblivious, doll faced girl picked up a shiny quarter from the grass. She looked no older than thirteen years old. She grinned, wiping the dirt from the coin before stuffing it in the pocket of her faded blue jeans and running back towards the direction of the swing.


	10. Adolescence

**A/N: I am sorry I haven't updated sooner. I've been in a ridiculous amount of unexplained and unbearable pain for days; I was genuinely convinced I was dying. Also there's a heatwave and I can't function in this weather (give me wind, cloudy rain; GIVE ME SNOW).**

**Zerhogie: *sweatdrops* Uh… Review, you fascinating humans!**

* * *

.

_(…drawn forth from the underworld.)_

.

Anna smiled, her hair wrapping around her face. Her eyes were closed, but she wouldn't have seen anything even if they were open. She was on a swing, swinging back and forth, the passers by throwing wary looks towards the young woman.

She loved swings, the freedom she felt swinging back and forth, feeling just the wind on her face and the lack of ground beneath her feet.

A bloody scalpel flashed in her mind and she sighed, opening her eyes. She let the swing slow to a stop, taking in a deep breath before turning to the swing on her left, expecting to see Beyond sitting in that peculiar way of his – she didn't even know if it was possible but a part of her guessed he would have found a way.

To her surprise Beyond was gone.

But the seat wasn't empty.

Wide doll-like eyes stared up to her, a sticky hand holding onto the swing, a purple tongue licking a dark blue popsicle, the melting treat dripping down her arm.

Anna sweat dropped, scratching her head. "Uh... Hello?"

Lick.

The blonde grinned, her feet bending with each swing. "Hello!"

The brunette raised an eyebrow. "So…"

The girl finished licking the plastic stick free of the icy dessert and then threw it over her shoulder. She wiped her hands on her shirt and skipped to stand in front of the older girl, grinning from ear to ear. "My name is Quarter Queen."

"Quarter Queen?"

"Yep," the teenager said, digging into her jean pocket and fishing out a shiny quarter coin. "The name fits." She shrugged, putting the coin back into its place and tilted her head to the side. "What's your name?"

"I'm Anna."

The girl grinned and bowed. "Nice to meet you!" Then she looked around, as if looking or someone. "Where's your boyfriend?"

Anna puffed her cheeks, glaring at a spot above the girl's head. "He's not my boyfriend." Then she looked at her face, failing not to cringe at the popsicle remains around her mouth.

She motioned to the surrounding area of her own mouth, letting Quarter Queen know. "You've got stuff on your face."

The teenagers eyes widened before she flushed with embarrassment, ignoring the woman's eyes as she wiped it off with the bottom of her shirt.

Beyond chose that exact moment to run up to Anna and throw his arms around her neck, yelling her name at the top of his lungs. His captive didn't even have enough time to react and once she caught on she just rolled her eyes, waiting for Beyond to let go of her.

He did, but not before she elbowed him to his ribs and he howled in pain. Quarter Queen observed the two in disbelief. "He is so your boyfriend!"

Anna glared. "Why are you in the park alone?" she questioned, with her arms crossed as Beyond rubbed his aching limbs.

The young girl stepped back wary, looking to the side. She scratched at her neck, her lips pouting. "Because I want to be alone! Besides, I'm a big girl." She faced the pair and stomped her foot defiantly. "I can take care of myself!"

Beyond burst out laughing, leaving the girl to gape at him with offense. "Hey!" she called to his retreating form as she doubled over, holding his stomach. "Stop laughing at me!"

"Quarter Queen," Anna said, calling the girl's attention. "I need to go and talk to my friend in private," she explained, pulling Beyond by the elbow with her as she walked, her destination the opposite side of the park. She turned over her shoulder, smiling at the girl. "Keep the swing for me, will you? We will be right back!"

As they vanished out of the hearing distance Anna growled at Beyond under her breath. "Why do you have to pick the busiest public places for you to play cat and mouse?"

Beyond rolled his eyes, struggling to keep up with her fast pace. "Stop worrying, her mother is out of town and since when do people care about what happens to those around them?"

Quarter Queen grinned and saluted the two, oblivious to her upcoming fate, raising an eyebrow when the black haired man tripped over his feet, falling to the ground face first and bringing Anna down with him.

.

* * *

.

Anna pulled Beyond around the corner and stopped, crossing her arms. Beyond stumbled into her and rubbed his head as he straightened up, glaring.

The stare directed at him almost made him shiver.

"Prove it to me," Anna demanded, her right foot tapping impatiently against the bricks of the pavement.

Beyond raised an eyebrow, hunching a little. If Anna wasn't mad she would have felt incredibly self-conscious at the fact he wasn't even standing straight and she still was almost an entire head shorter than him. Beyond's eyes squinted at her through the harsh sunlight in question. "What are you talking about?"

"Prove it to me!" Anna repeated, stomping her foot like a temperamental child. "Prove it to me that she will die because if you don't I will steal that knife of yours and slice your common carotid arteries before you can even lay a finger on her!"

The man in front of her rolled his eyes, scratching at the front of his neck before smirking, finding the thought of the medical student cutting his throat quite humorous. His bulging eyes scanned the park, not lingering on a single person for longer than a second before he saw through the iron gate a middle aged man walking his dog.

With a red glare, English letters floated above his head in a halo: Patrick Arthur James.

But what Beyond smiled at were the numbers below his name.

He met Anna's expectant gaze and grinned, Anna wincing at the expression, her nose wrinkling.

She had a bad feeling in her stomach. "What are you smiling at?"

Beyond feigned innocence, his lips quirked upwards, the smile unnatural. He bowed, one hand outstretched to his side and the other across his chest. He gazed up at Anna through his bangs.

"Who am I to refuse a lady's request?"

Anna gaped, looking around her in horror, praying that the passers-by didn't notice the display. She growled under her breath, her cheeks red. "What the hell are you doing?"

Beyond whirled her around, his arms on her shoulders before he pointed to his target. Anna swallowed, uncomfortable at his close proximity, and followed the direction of his finger.

A greying man walked towards the crossing of the road with a bounce to his step, his bulldog pulling at its leash, whining in protest at the slow pace. The pair was close enough to the gate for Anna to spy a hearing aid in his ear.

"His name is Patrick Arthur James and he has mere seconds left to live." Beyond's voice raised the hair on Anna's neck and she shivered, rolling her shoulders and he removed his hands from her, smirking at the tension her body language emitted.

A high pitched noise broke the silence and half the people in the busy street stopped walking, listening. A few families on the park benches strained their necks to see the commotion. Dogs started barking at the road.

Mr James continued walking, stepping onto the road with a worn brown shoe.

Around the corner a grey sports car screeched into view, car horns blaring at the vehicle. People rolled down their windows to yell. A deafening siren of the police van followed soon after. Patrick James continued crossing the road, his eyes trained on the little green figure of the traffic light in front of him, oblivious to the car racing towards him.

His dog barked, violently pulling at the leash that slipped past his owner's fingers. The pet made it to the pavement the moment the man was hit.

A woman screamed and the dog stopped wagging its tongue, cocking its head to the side. A nervous whine rumbled in it chest.

The car didn't slow even when the windshield was hit with the body and stained with blood, the old man flying into the air like a ragdoll. The police van didn't stop, instead swerving out of the way and continuing to chase its target.

Anna gasped, stepping back and bumping into Beyond, her hands flying to her mouth.

He smirked; now there was no reason for her not to trust him.

But when he looked at her eyes he frowned, seeing not relief in them but horror and disappointment.

Beyond rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "The girl will die a painless death," he reasoned.

Anna shook her head, her eyes focused on the scene in front of her. A group of people surrounded the man as the dog barked in alarm at the strangers. A woman in a business suit rummaged through her cream purse before looking around her in despair, begging for somebody to call an ambulance. A teenager was nearest to the victim and his face was sombre. He held to fingers against the man's jawline before looking up at the surrounding civilians and sadly shaking his head.

Anna swallowed the lump in her chest and took in a deep breath, shutting her eyes. "That still doesn't change the fact you're going to kill _a child_, Beyond."

The man in question growled whirling her around and shook her by her shoulders. "Do you not understand?!" he demanded, Anna's wide eyes staring at him. If any passers-by noticed the exchange, they didn't show it. "How many times must I say it?! I will give that girl not only a painless death but a purpose. Don't play naïve to the statistics of how children from poor neighbourhoods turn out to be even if she did live to become an adult. This way, by being a part of my design, she will be remembered in an innocent light."

Anna glared at him, attempting to get free from his hold. "And then what?" she demanded, finally managing to get his hands off of her and she took a step towards him, staring up at the emotionless voids that were his eyes. "What happens when her mother comes back to town to find her daughter's lifeless body on the ground? What amount of psychological damage will infect her? How many days will pass before she will feel the scratching urge to escape the pain of her only daughter's death?"

Beyond took a step back crossing his arms behind his back. "Well," he sang, smirking, "you know all about that, don't you?"

.

* * *

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Anna ran a hand through her hair, biting her lip. Her body was slumped on the ground against a wall, one of her legs pressed against her chest on which she rested her chin. Her other leg was outstretched in front of her, and her lips twitched every time Beyond tripped over them in passing.

A hammer squatted in her loose grip, a gloved hand stained with blood.

Her mind swam - another sleepless night having taken a toll of her. She could barely remember the details of the night, the actions about as clear as the morning mist. She thought they have snuck into the apartment with Quarter Queen laying limply over Beyond's shoulder sometime around 3am, but she wasn't sure.

"Damn it," she mumbled her voice barely above a whisper, a thumb to her lips. "It's all screwy."

She tried to recollect her thoughts, but her brain couldn't even remember all that happened, let alone the timely order of the events. Ryuzaki's form was a blur as he wiped the small apartment off of fingerprints and she scratched her chin, trying to figure out whether or not she imagined him opening the chest of draws clearly contained the small girl's clothing and picking out a pair of underwear with strawberries on it, his thumb to his lips as he hummed a song she didn't recognise.

She was in the bedroom of the small home Quarter Queen shared with her single mother, a door to her right. Due to the thin walls even from her positiono the ground Anna could hear the commotion in the building block behind the front door. It was early morning and people were rushing off to work and school, obliviously ignorant to the grisly event that has happened to their young neighbour.

The apartment 605 was downtown, on the Third Avenue, a poor and not exactly an inviting neighbourhood. The entire living space was smaller than Believe Bridesmaid's bedroom, built for the market of college students, just a little bigger than Anna's home. It was a mess too, crowded with things and some of the food in the refrigerator Anna noted to be weeks old.

Anna sighed. Just to the side of the center of her vision she could see a Wara Ningyo doll nailed to the wall, an additional one on the walls of either side of her; three in total.

One doll less than the last murder scene.

Beyond crouched in front of her, his gloved hands linked together as his elbows rested on his knees. He surveyed Anna's glazed eyes with a frown, before he lifted his left hand and smirked. The limb soared through the air, coming into contact with her cheek.

Anna gasped and her head momentarily turned to the side at the hit, her hand flying to her already reddening cheek. She gaped at the man in front of her for a long minute before scrambling to her feet and staring down at him with a glare. "What the hell?! Why did you just slap me?"

Before she could stop herself her eyes travelled behind him. Past his hair and the few drops of blood on his face she could see Quarter Queen's golden locks matted with blood. The girl was laying on her front, her whole body awkwardly twisted, unnatural. There was no sign that she was alive. A small puddle of blood pulled underneath her.

Her stomach lurched and she averted her eyes to the ceiling, having just enough time to swallow the urge of emptying whatever she last ate onto the ground. She steadied her breath and looked back at the body, squinting closely.

There was something wrong with the skull.

No. Not something. She knew exactly what.

Before her eyes, the girl's hair was becoming more and more tainted with red. The blood was freshly oozing from the caved in skull. Her eyes flickered to Beyond for a moment, surveying how little blood was on his person. Without a doubt the largest amount of the mutilation to the body was done post-mortum, otherwise Beyond would be drenched in blood from head to toe judging by the damage done to the skull.

Never the less, there were enough injuries to suggest that Beyond beat her to death – the blood would have simply blended in with his black shirt. The medical student frowned.

A long and thin metal pole lay near the girl's body.

Anna gritted her jaw, refocusing her gaze on the killer. So much for his claims of a peaceful death. The girl might not have felt a thing but Beyond completely destroy any physical signs that the body on the ground was the thirteen year old girl.

And he had the nerve to smile. She sneered, motioning towards the dead body. "What? Do you want me to carve her chest as well?"

Beyond shook his head wildly, standing up. "No. Don't even touch the body."

Anna held up her hands palms first – pausing to quickly put down the hammer that she didn't realise she still had in her grip - to show that it wasn't her intention.

But Beyond's eyes shined with excitement, the corners of his lips twitching upwards as his gloved hands clenched multiple times. His feet were quietly tapping against the floorboards.

Anna raised an eyebrow, pursing her lips and she folded her arm across her chest. "Is there anything you need?"

He grinned. "I have a present for you!" He rushed off and loudly opened a kitchen draw, coming back in a wisp of a dark cloud, and thrust something in front of her face.

Anna yelped, immediately covering her mouth with her hands in case her voice carried.

In his palm, in a water filled jar, two bloody eyeballs stared at her. Beyond's smile reminded her of a proud cat; a pet that has brought its owner a dead bird, waiting for them to marvel at it and praise them for the present. When her eyes remained wide, Beyond's smile dropped and the hand with the jar lowered, his expression soon transforming to that of a kicked puppy.

"You don't like it?"

"No!" Anna roared, horrified at the concept. Beyond looked down, disappointed, before shrugging and walking over to the corpse, unscrewing the lid and throwing the contents of the jar next to Quarter Queen's head - or what remained of it - and squishing them with his shoe.

Anna stared, unable to move. Logic escaped her.

Beyond lifted his foot, stepping back and watching the pudle of blood envelop the crushed eyeballs. The blood continued to expand, reaching the metal pole but before it even touched it Beyond grabbed the weapon from the ground, resting it against his shoulder.

He turned to Anna, annoyed at the look on her face. He actually looked upset as he huffed, turning away from her and crossing his arms. "I thought you would like the present. It was to a friend from the bottom of my heart," he said.

She glared, her upper lip curling. "You are not my friend."

"Boyfriend, then?"

Anna closed her eyes out of irritation, her hands clenching into fists and she had to control herself not to punch him. "No, you are _not_ my boyfriend. Do you even have any idea of what that concept is?"

Beyond nodded, smiling again. "Of course I do!" he sang. "And so many people assume that we are romantically involved it almost seems easier to play along as to not arouse suspicion." He turned back around, looking down at the dead body as if it was nothing more than a bland piece of art.

Anna's gloved palm met her forehead with a loud slap. She dragged her hand down her face, glaring at the darkly dressed man's back in front of her the moment she could open her eyes. "If you ever make such an impression upon _anyone_ that we meet, I swear to God, I will hit you."

Beyond threw her a smirk over his shoulder. "Oh I will be looking forward to that."


	11. Dig Up the Past

**A/N: Let's ignore the fact I have been unconsciously listening to the Dexter soundtrack while writing this… I hope everyone enjoys this chapter!**

* * *

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_(She is the subduer of god and men alike, and even Zeus himself…)_

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Anna took a huge bite out of a hamburger the size of her head. She chewed sloppily, smiling at the warm, heavy food filling her tummy. "Hmm. Sweet, sweet cholesterol."

Kate blew on her cup of hot chocolate, sticking her tongue out at her friend and co-worker. She gave the window on their side a nervous glance, seeing the sky darken. The two girls have worked a late evening shift and decided to find a new restaurant for exciting food.

She blonde blew a loose strand of her from in front of her eyes. It seemed that while she thought 'exciting food' was a plate of messy extra spicy spaghetti in an Italian Restaurant that received five stars in the most recent food magazine review, Anna decided to drag her to the nearest fast food joint.

"You eat like a pig."

Anna raised a middle finger in response.

Kate blew a raspberry at her before nervously fidgeting in her seat. She tucked a strand of wavy hair behind her ear before deciding to pull it all into a tight ponytail, looking around for people listening. When she decided they were sufficiently isolated she turned back to Anna, licking her lips.

"Have you been watching the News recently?"

Anna's eyes flickered to her lower right before she shrugged, taking another bite of her burger, making a show of chewing slowly and noisily. When she noticed Kate's glare she swallowed the painfully big bite, her shoulders rising before falling lower than before. "No. Why?"

Kate's jaw dropped before she recollected herself, leaning so far on the table Anna jumped back. "Haven't you heard about the Wara Ningyo doll murders? There have been only two of them but the Police have confirmed they are treating the case as serial killings!"

The Wara Ningyo doll murders? She could have sworn on of the newspapers referred to it as 'The Serial Locked Room Cases' instead. Perhaps the media was weaving between the two.

Anna pursed her lips, finishing her burger off and chewing the last bites before she spoke next. "I don't watch television as religiously as you," she retorted. "Besides, it could be a copy-cat killing."

The blonde frowned, sitting back in her chair and shaking her head, dismissing the theory. "Unlikely, my Uncle is an officer and he said it's impossible for it to be a copy-cat. The details matched perfectly.

"You should pay more attention to the recent events," she said, shaking an index finger at her friend disapprovingly. She pursed her lips, crossing her arms as her eyes narrowed, a sign she was in deep thought. "Those murders are terrifying. And especially the scene of that second murder – that poor little girl!" She took her cup in her hands, taking a sip before releasing a sigh.

Anna waved her hand dismissively but when Kate looked down at the hot liquid in between her palms she frowned, swallowing the lump in her chest. Lying came unnecessarily natural to her after years of doing so but that didn't make it any easier on her conscious. When her friend looked back up, Anna offered her a comforting smile. "It's alright. I'm sure they will catch him."

Kate rested her chin on her palm, furring her eyebrows. "Uncle Rob is stressing out. He is not supposed to discuss the case details but he can't help it – the murders have the entire homicide department on their toes. And those dolls; aren't they depicted in the Japanese culture as being used for curses?"

Yes.

Anna shrugged, taking a sip of her tea. "No idea."

Kate smiled sadly, her eyes watering before she wiped the tear away before it fell. "But you're right," she said more to herself than Anna. "The monster behind this will be caught."

Anna nodded. "He sure will."

Kate scratched at the back of her neck, the corner of her lips down despite her trying to stay positive. "I just can't imagine what kind of a man would do this."

"Yeah," Anna's voice trailed off, her eyes trained on her mug, the steam emitting from the tea warming her face. "It's hard to-"

She choked suddenly, her eyes wide and she clutched at her mouth. She stood, knocking over her mug of tea as she violently bumped the table – Kate barely managing to keep her hot chocolate from spilling – rushing towards the direction of the bathroom.

Kate remained turned in her seat, a worried look on her face. Two tense minutes passed before her friend returned, whipping at her mouth and shuffling her feet. She frowned as Anna slumped back in her seat, her eyes even more disappointed when she saw that her drink has been spilled.

The blonde gave her friend a lopsided smile. "If I didn't know that your sex life is as non-existent as mine, I would have made some joke about getting knocked up."

Anna rolled her eyes, running a hand through her hair, wincing at the raw taste at the back of her throat. "You're not funny!" She groaned, the urge to vomit returning and she closed her eyes, resting her face in her hands. "Damn it, that burger didn't taste so nice coming back up."

The woman across from her raised her eyebrows. "Oh? You never usually complain about my jokes!" She gasped mockingly, her fingers to her lips. "Does that mean your sex life _does _exist? My God, Anna! I had my suspicions about Tom but I didn't realise he was such a smooth talker."

Anna's cheek flared and she slumped in her seat, sulking, and crossed her arms. "Shut up, Kate!" She shook the mental images that her friend's words created out of her head.

Kate grinned before the smile was replaced by a concerned expression. "In all seriousness: is everything okay?"

Anna massaged her temples, nodding, her voice raspy. "Yes, yes, everything's fine."

The blonde pursed her lips, tilting her head to the side. "I'm not convinced. You almost fainted at work today too."

Her friend rolled her eyes.

Kate bit her lip. "Twice," she clarified. Anna looked at her, her eyes taunting, as if asking whether the statement is supposed to mean anything. The blonde rolled her eyes, downing the last of her hot chocolate and placing the mug down gently. "Please," she pleaded, slowly meeting her friend's eyes. "I'm worried about you."

Anna scratched at her eyebrow, bringing her thumb to her lips. "I was being serious!" She tried to smile at Kate to convince her, but her lips resembled more of a grimace. "It's just…"

The woman parallel to her laid her hands on the table between them, lacing her fingers. "We're not moving until you tell me."

Anna rolled her eyes, groaning. "There is nothing to tell!" She pulled at her coat's sleeve, resting her chin on her palms, a bored look washing over her features. She wasn't about to admit to her that she's been barely sleeping and not being able to keep down most of what she ate and feeling like her blood ran ice cold in her veins, her head ringing. It must have simply been the stress from the recent activities. "Honestly. I must have eaten something funny, that's all."

"Every single day?" Kate leaned forwards, her eyes squinting. "Are you sure you ain't pregnant?"

Her friend yelped, clasping her hands over her ears. "Yes! Stop that!"

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* * *

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Anna fumbled with her keys in the dark, cheering in success when she finally managed to unlock the door to her apartment. She stepped inside, adjusting the heavy paper bags in her hands, waving goodbye to the taxi before she shut the door. She squinted through the dark, searching for the light switch. When her fingers grasped it, she flicked it on, sighing when even the worn beanbags in front of the television were symmetrical.

Beyond moved the furniture around again.

She reached on her tiptoes, putting the ring of keys on the hook above the door frame before cuddling the bags full of groceries in her arms, wobbling towards the kitchen. She placed them on the counter, scanning the apartment for any sign of Beyond.

She found him in a twisted roll of blankets.

She couldn't help but smile, though she wiped it off her face as soon as it came, frowning as to why she would be happy at the sight of him.

She hated him.

She nodded, as if to convince herself before moving towards him and squatting in front of her bed, shaking him by the shoulder. She turned him around, surprised at the expression on his face.

Anna's lips twitched. "Are you actually_ moping_?"

The black haired man sniffed, wrapping the pink sheet tighter around him. "We're out of strawberry jam."

Oh.

Anna sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Sorry, man I forgot to get some."

Beyond grumbled, pulling the blankets over his head.

The brunette crossed her arms, sitting down on the ground with her legs curled beneath her. "Well how was I supposed to know you will eat the five jars you had left while I was at work?"

He didn't respond. Instead he cursed her under his breath, turning his back to her.

"Hey!" she protested, shaking his shoulder. "Dude, I need the bed this time! I've been laying on those beanbags for the last three days. I can't sleep!"

Beyond smirked. "Tough luck," he said, his voice muffled by the blankets.

Anna gaped before glaring, standing to her feet and crossing her arms. "You wanna play rough?" she demanded. "Okay!" She wriggled herself into the spot between the man and the wall, placing her feet against his side. She took in a deep breath and with one swift kick she threw him off.

A loud thud echoed throughout the apartment, Beyond wincing when he painfully hit the floor. He slowly freed his head from the sheets, staring at Anna with wide eyes. "You actually pushed me out of the bed," he whispered, as if the act was an impossible occurrence.

Anna nodded, crossing her legs beneath her, her head held high. She outstretched her hand towards him. "Now give me back my blankets!"

Beyond raised his head defiantly, stumbling to his feet. He stared down at Anna with a sinister smile. "I will," he freed his hand, raising a thumb to his lips, "If you tell me about Justin."

Anna's face transformed, a wary look in her eyes. Her voice shook and her eyes looked anywhere but him. "What are you on about?"

The man in front of her sneered, leaning over her until his bangs tickled her nose and she jumped back, feeling cornered when her back hit the wall. She frowned, uncomfortable at his close proximity.

"Justin Quinn. Tell me about what happened to him."

Anna gulped loudly, her lips trembling, her eyes scanning his dark t-shirt, noticing he washed it while she was gone. "I don't talk about him. Nobody talks about him."

He shook his head, his voice stern. "Tell me," he repeated slowly, as if giving command to a child.

Anna's eyes flared and her lips curled back in a snarl. "I said I don't talk about him!"

Beyond raised an eyebrow at the outburst, straightening up and staring her down with a frown. She glared at him with so much intensity he wouldn't have been surprised if his head caught fire. She pulled on the collar of her t-shirt, her gaze wavering, looking down at her hands.

"He died."

"No," Beyond leaned towards her again, his teeth shining. "You murdered him."

Anna shook her head wildly. "No I didn't!" she protested, shaking her hands in front of her as if she could wave away the accusation. "It was an accident. Him and Tracy both! There was a story in the papers and everything!"

The man in front of her adjusted the blanket until it pooled around his shoulders and he paced back and forth in front of the bed, his eyes focused on the ceiling. "It _was_ a rather curious story."

Her form shook as she brought her knees to her chest, hugging her legs. She shut her eyes, burying her head in her jeans. "Please stop talking."

Beyond didn't listen, instead coking his head to the side. Anna tightened the hold on her legs, wishing she could collapse within herself and not have to face him or his words. He grinned, enjoying her trembling from in the corner of his eyes, satisfaction pulsing through him as he stripped away her mental defences like the layers of an onion, one by one.

He opened his mouth, the words skilfully rolling off his tongue, malicious and mocking. "Ah, yes. The tragic accident which shocked poor little girl into having a mental breakdown. _Poor child_, so innocent, how many tears have she shed since that night?" He gave a Shakespearean pose, holding an imaginary skull in his right hand, outstretched towards the window.

"Please," Anna's voice was garbled and she sniffed, hiccuping. "Please stop."

Beyond tilted his head, his eyes focused on the clear streams running down her cheeks as she slowly raised her head, attempting to glare at the blurry shape in front of her.

She was crying?

"I'm sorry!"

Beyond raised an eyebrow, crouching in front of her. He held a hand to his ear, his head leaned towards her. "I beg your pardon, I missed that."

Anna shook her head, sniffling and wiping at her eyes with her sleeves and frowning when her vision didn't clear. She planted her lips on her knees, gulping. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for it to happen! I had no choice!"

It took Beyond a moment to realise she wasn't apologising to him, she wasn't even seeing him. Her eyes gazed past his form, a frown on her face, her pupils unfocused, darting as if during REM sleep stage. Her ramblings soon reduced to mumblings too quiet and garbled for him to make clear words out and he ran a hand through his hair.

"I see," he mumbled with bored pity coating his words as he sat down, turning and resting against the edge of the bed, letting his head hit the mattress. "Seems like I was right all along."

The gentle and uneven sobs coming from the girl behind him were oddly comforting. He closed his eyes, his breathing slowing down to a regular pace.

Anna paid him no attention. She pulled at her hair, violently whipping her eyes with her bony knees, groaning silently. She felt like hours have passed before she managed to stop her body from tossing on the bed and calmed, a heavy weight on her chest.

It was the first time in months that she had cried herself to sleep.

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* * *

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_Anna smiled in content, the little plastic fan device cooling her down just the exact amount. She rode shotgun, her bare legs propped on the car's dashboard, toe nails painted a bright pink._

_To her left, a tall and tanned teenager hummed happily at the hip hop song on the radio, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel in rhythm. He smiled at Anna at his side, his eyes lingering on the smile on her face before he turned to look over his shoulder at the other girl there, wearing a red t-shirt and a jean skirt, blonde roots showing through her otherwise pale pink hair._

_The teenager's eyes widened and she yelped, grabbing onto her seatbelt, glaring at the boy in front of her. "Keep your eyes on the road!"_

_He barked a laugh but turned around, his eyes on the sandy stretch of sand in front of them._

_Anna's eyebrows knitted together as if she remembered something important. She turned to the girl brooding in the back seat and gave her a smile. "Tracy, did you pack the tent?"_

_The addressed girl rolled her eyes with a scoff. "Of course I packed it, who do you think I am?"_

_The car jolted to the left, the sudden movement would have thrown her to the right if she wasn't wearing the safety belt. _"_Bloody hell, tell him to drive like a normal human being, or he will lose his recently acquired driver license about which is_ oh so _proud of_!"

_The brunette shook her head, smirking as she turned around in her seat and focused on the window by her side, the small gap between the glass and the window frame letting in a cool breeze that ruffled her long hair around her and obscured her vision._

_The car swerved sideways again, Anna dropping the plastic device and cursing, immediately looking for it by her feet._

"_Justin Quinn, I swear to God-"_

"_Oh shut up, old bat!" Anna cackled at Justin's outburst, the two sharing a sideways look and a smirk. She picked up the little fan, deciding to turn it off and throw it behind her. It soared past Tracy and into the car booth behind the back seats. _

"_Old bat?" Tracy screeched at the insult, horrified, ignoring the device that almost hit her in the face. She kicked at Justin's chair, shaking her small fist at him. "You are six months older than I!"_

_Justin flew a loose strand of hair only for it to get in front of his eyes, enjoying when Anna laughed. He stared at Tracy through the rear view mirror with a bored look in his eyes, unable to keep his lips from tugging upwards. "I honestly don't understand why you're over reacting."_

_Tracy pouted, looking out through a window at the passing landscape. "I am not over-reacting, you're driving like a madman."_

_Anna smiled before her lips tugged downwards. Despite Tracy saying she packed the tent she still felt like there was something important they forgot._

_Then it hit her. She turned to Tracy over her shoulder, asking, "How about the sleeping bags?" Her eyes flickered between the pink haired girl and the driver. "Did anybody pack those?"_

_A tense moment of silence passed before it was broken with yells, each of them rolling their eyes, shouting their complains at the other two._

"_Where the hell are we going to sleep?"_

"_Oh come on, it's not all bad is it? We can always sleep in the car!"_

"_Kind of defeats the purpose of bringing a tent, Quinn."_

"_Hey, don't be a smartass, will you?"_

"_What the hell, man? Why didn't you pack the sleeping bags?" Tray accused, her ears matching the colour of her hair._

"_Oh give me, a break!" Justin threw his hands in the air, glowering at her over his shoulder while the girl at his side repeatedly told him to keep his head on the road. "I packed the car!"_

_Anna rolled her eyes. "You didn't pack the car, you're _driving _the car."_

_The trio continued to argue heatedly all the way to the lake and once Justin pulled over underneath a shady tree, Tracy undid her seatbelt and jumped out of the car the moment he stilled the engine, her arms crossed and her grey eyes flashing with anger._

_Anna sighed and met Justin's eye, raising an eyebrow before both of them burst out laughing. To their side Tracy rolled her eyes, walking towards the lake and flipped her hair over her shoulder. But she smiled never the less, shaking her head at the idiocy of her two friends. She reached the edge of the lake and immediately threw off her sandals and sat down dipping her feet in the cold water._

_She turned half way to look back at the car before cupping her hand around her mouth and yelling at the top of my lungs. "I call dibs on the back seat! You two can sleep in the wild!"_

_Her two friends joined Tracy soon after, Justin waiting for the two girls to sit down before he ran towards the lake and jumped in, sending a tidal wave towards the pair._

"_You little shit!" Tracy gasped out, looking down at her wet clothes in horror. She slowly looked up at the guy, a murderous glint in her eyes before she jumped into the lake after him, screaming. "I am going to _kill _you!"_

_Anna giggled, looking down at her blue dungarees and the black t-shirt underneath it, glad she didn't end up wearing the white dress she had half a mind to. She leaned back to rest on her elbows, swinging her legs in the cool water, grinning at the scene of her two friends fighting, wishing she had a bucket of popcorn._

"_They look so happy don't they?"_

_Anna jumped, looking to the side, frowning when she saw a black haired man to her side. He stood with his shoulders hunched, and a thumb to his lips. His wide eyes flickered to her a smiled sinisterly._

"_People's emotions are so easy to fake," he mused. "Your closest friends can turn against you just like that-" _

_He clicked his fingers, interrupting himself. Anna looked behind her to where Justin has parked his car, not noticing any other vehicles. She tilted her head towards the stranger, curious. Did he walk all the way out here?_

_He didn't seem to notice her confusion; instead he resumed talking, his eyes flickering to where her friends were fighting. "You can never truly know what a person is thinking. "_

_She raised an eyebrow, turning her gaze back to the lake._

_Her friends were gone. The slightly murky water replaced by a sea of blood._

_Anna screamed, pulling her legs out of the water and scrambling to her feet, pulling a face at the red liquid covering her legs. She panicked, throwing the stranger an annoyed look before turning back to the lake, her eyes searching for her friends._

_The stranger wasn't fazed. He simply rolled his eyes, turning on his heel. "Not very good friends, are they, leaving you on your own?"_

_Anna ignored him, yelling at the top of her lungs for her friends. "Justin? Tracy?"_

_The black haired man smiled over his shoulder as he walked away, waving. "I told you so."_

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* * *

.

Anna woke with a start, her breath caught in her throat. A long minute passed before she realised she was awake and the twisted scene in front of her was gone. A question immediately danced in her head: why on earth did she dream Beyond was there?

She groaned, curling into a foetal position, rubbing her eyes with her knuckles and pulling her blanket closer around her.

She blinked.

A blanket?

She turned, stopping when she came face to face with Beyond.

He looked peaceful, perhaps even endearing with his lips slightly open, the make up slightly smudged under the eyes, on his position on the ground, resting against the wall.

Her eyebrows rose before she frowned. Did he sleep like that? She shrugged, yawning before shuffling a little closer, unconsciously drawing comfort from his presence. His chest moved peacefully, the steady rhythm slowly lowering her eyelids.

The sun shining through the window glared on them a second later and Anna groaned, shying away from the light. Beyond shifted at the noise, bringing his legs closer to his chest but remaining asleep. The girl beside him buried her head in his shoulder, throwing a corner of her blanket over both of their heads. She smiled contently into the darkness, the dark memory evaporating from her mind.

It wasn't her fault. She tried to convince herself that.

It wasn't her fault.


	12. An abomination

**A/N: Nothing to say other than this chapter feels awfully filler-like. Either way, hope you readers enjoy it! **

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_(…the King of all gods, he whom resides atop the mount Olympus, stood struck by awe in her presence.)_

_._

Anna drummed her fingers on the book in front of her as she laid on the bed, bored, her eyes trained at the back of Beyond's head. He had spent half the day crouched on the floor, surrounded by sheets of paper in every direction. When she woke and first saw him in said position she smiled and said 'Good Morning'. He responded by roaring at her like a bear in a language she couldn't identify whenever she came within five feet of his paper based personal bubble.

Apparently he was doing some 'very important research' which was not even worth taking a food break for due to the task of moving. Anna deliberated passing him a jar of his beloved jam but then decided she was still offended at his outburst to commit such an act of kindness.

She let out a sigh loud enough for Beyond to hear – and she knew he heard her by the way his nose twitched- and rolled over onto her back, staring at the ceiling. She frowned, thinking back at the night of the teenage girl's murder. She realised that unlike the first murder, where he pushed a blade in her hand and commanded her to carve the roman numerals that will spell Quarter Queen's name, Beyond did not let her participate in the murder or mutilating process of the girl - not that she complained. She simply had a bad feeling that Beyond left some other clue. Surely he must have?

She voiced her question, asking him whether her musings were correct.

He replied with a simple "Yes" without as much as giving her a sideways glance, his eyes focused on the paper in his hands.

Beyond found it hard to look her in the eye since he woke that morning. He stirred from unconsciousness, as always waking up suddenly but without movement - only his eyes opening to acknowledge his surroundings. He blinked, hard, for a moment confused as to why the world remained dark even as his eyes were open.

And for a second he wondered if he had finally died. Was this what life after death was like? No heaven, no hell, simply an empty void of feeling, sight and sound. He wasn't sure whether to be joyous or disappointed.

He hadn't even finished his case for L...

Yes. Definitely disappointed.

A groan emitted from near by his ear and he froze, suddenly painfully aware of a weight on his shoulder. He shifted, annoyed, and freeing his right hand from where it was in a warm spot wedged between his chest and knees he moved what felt like a blanket from over his head.

He recoiled as if burned once he realised how close Anna's face was to his. He stared wide eyed at the girl, surprised not only at how she managed to get that close without waking him up, but why would she do it willingly _in the first place._

His face blanched as he frowned, standing up and watching as the girl groaned and turned to lay on her other side, unaware that anything has taken place.

Was she becoming _comfortable_ around him?

His stomach flipped with horror. He couldn't possibly allow that! Fear was his hold against her – the best weapon of manipulation he had over her and not only that, but he also rather enjoyed the look that crossed her face whenever she was afraid.

More precisely: afraid of _him._

Always like a sparrow that has been caught and was still surprise to see a cage.

Anna yawned, nuzzling deeper within her blanket and Beyond tilted his head to the side, annoyed. He knew the story about her friend but he wanted to hear it from _her_ lips. Although it seemed like instead she decided to cry herself to sleep like a weakling he knew she was.

The girl seemed to mumble a word that he didn't quiet catch. Or was it a name?

He crossed his arms as he stood over her sleeping form, his shoulder still burning. How dare she use his shoulder as a pillow when she forced him to sleep on the floor?!

She was _his_ to control, not the other way round.

Beyond shook his head, frowning at the memory and putting down a Wara Ningyo doll he was holding before picking up a sheet of paper, a thumb to his lips. He couldn't remember the last time he was that close to a human being without him doing some sort of harm to them.

"So what _was_ the clue?" Anna asked impatiently from the spot on her bed, penetrating his thoughts.

Beyond rolled his eyes, annoyed that she was too stupid to notice the glasses he placed on the teenager's face despite she always wore contact lenses. It was obvious really.

Glasses = a townhouse in the West of LA, near the 'Glass Station' Metrorail.

_Painfully_ obvious.

Anna raised an eyebrow, her hands crossed. "Hey, sleeping beauty, are you going to answer me?"

He sneered but bit back a harsh remark, making a show of shrugging his shoulders in a nonchalant manner. "I told you I am busy: working." He tapped a pen against his temple, his eyes on the clock in the kitchen before he turned to Anna with a sly smirk, his teeth glinting. "Hmm, _Work_. Isn't that where you're supposed to be?"

Anna scoffed, sticking her tongue out. Beyond looked away with a roll of his eyes, turning his attention back to the task at hand but not before motioning pointedly to his arm, an imaginary watch on his wrist.

The brunette looked at the clock in the kitchen, convincing herself she was merely rolling her eyes rather than following his advice to check the time. Only after two minutes of straining – that was slowly pounding a headache into her brain and convincing her she might have needed a pair of glasses – she realised that she was supposed to be ten minutes away from work at that exact moment.

"Shit!" she cursed, jumping to her feet and rummaged to get ready, attempting to tame her hair in the mirror before rushing out of the apartment with her wallet in between her teeth, ignoring Beyond's yells when she stepped on a couple of his papers.

He stuck his tongue out at the door before recollecting himself and taking in a calming breath, looking at a scanned copy of a driver's license belonging to a brown haired female in her mid-twenties.

Anna on the other hand was not calm. She cursed a thousand times by the time she reached the bottom of the stairs, waving goodbye to the landlord who was sweeping the front pavement, the fake grin stretching at her cheeks. Once on the main road she dropped the smile, crossing her arms.

She couldn't believe she lost the sense of time like that.

She huffed, looking down at the clothing she half-blindly pulled on this morning. A pair of jean shorts, a black baggy low cut t-shirt and her grey parka jacket. Great. Now all the old men were going to eye down her top as she passed them their change.

She rolled her eyes, her fast pace turning into a run, wanting to be late by as little minutes as possible.

Perhaps her clothing would give her more tips that night?

No. A ridiculous notion.

Kate was lucky. With her smile and bubbly personality she could as little as smile at a customer and they left a tip twice what their cup of coffee cost. Anna tried to do that, but then the men thought that it was her responsibility as a woman to take their number as they jeered at her through suggestive eyebrows and an empty tip jar. She scoffed. She didn't want to touch their dirty hands. But she couldn't shake the selfish feeling of jealousy that told her with a silvery voice how unfair it was.

She sneered as she rounded a corner, Beyond in her mind again. She couldn't believe she was so focused on him that she lost the track of time. No matter ho many times she reminded herself about the mistake she still couldn't believe it. She must have spent hours laying on her stomach and pretending to read a book - which Beyond threw at her so she would stop pestering him - wishing that she could drill a hole through the back of his head with her stare.

Maybe even something a little more drastic.

Like bashing his skull in with a metal rod…

Anna pushed the thought away when she realised people were actually jumping out of her way with yelps and wide eyes. But she didn't give them too much thought, focusing instead on her white sneakers pounding against the pavement.

Soon she was bent over in front of her coffee shop, her face flushed and deep breaths entering and leaving her mouth, her hands on her knees. She looked up, meeting the eyes of one of her managers who was just leaving and giving Anna a disapproving glare. The employee gave her a strained smile, watching as her boss mumbled out a "I am taking this out of your pay check, young lady" and left the scene with a huff, her nose high in the air as if she didn't even need to see where her feet were stepping. Anna rolled her eyes, straightening up before she opened the door to the coffee shop, breathing in the smell of coffee.

Her blonde co-worker waved enthusiastically as she passed a woman in a grey business suit a mocha with two shots of espresso, despite her eyes noting the big clock on the wall that revealed the fact her friend was late by seventeen minutes.

Anna waved back, hurrying towards the counter, pushing all thoughts of Beyond out of her head. The bastard didn't deserve any more of her time.

Kate bumped her hip with Anna's the moment the brunette put her hair up in a messy ponytail, a knowing smile to her lips. "Did you sleep in?"

Her friend immediately caught onto her train of thought. She raised her nose high, scoffing. "No such thing, I assure you."

Kate rolled her eyes, unsatisfied with the words signalling the end to the conversation that hasn't even begun. The two worked in silence, Anna frowning at the smile tugging at the blonde's lips.

She sighed as she wiped clean an espresso machine, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, biting her lip.

Anna's mind wandered to the dream she had. She scrubbed the appliance with more force, annoyed at the fact that Beyond just had to bring up her past.

She kept it buried for a reason. Even Dr Foveaux didn't know about the real reason she was forced into therapy in the first place. Only two people knew: both of them resting six feet under.

And they couldn't exactly speak beyond the grave now, could they?

And Anna luckily haven't had nightmares about it for a while. Well. Until Beyond brought it up.

She growled, cursing him in her head.

"Such a pretty girl shouldn't look so angry, it doesn't suit you."

Anna looked up at the interruption of her thoughts, rolling her eyes at the man in front of her. Kate elbowed her to the side, her eyes warning her that even though she was in a bad mood, she had to keep her cool. But then she winked, as she took another order, letting her friend know that if the guy was an asshole she should put on a show.

Anna shook her head, biting back a smile as she turned back towards the customer. "What would you like?"

He was a tall man with Italian features and a 'bad boy' glint to his eyes despite the gelled back hair. He wore an expensive watch on his right wrist - must have been left handed - the brand of which escaped her due to having no interest whatsoever in men's designer watches. He wore a pair of jeans and casual, brown leather shoes, but on his upper body he wore an ironed salmon shirt and grey suit jacket complete to a blue square sticking out above the breast pocket.

It made it a little harder than usual to figure out his profession.

He smirked. "How about your number?"

As his lips moved around his words, his eyes slowly traveled down her body, lingering on her bare skin, a movement that didn't go unnoticed by her.

How typical.

Joke's on him - she didn't even own a cellphone. And if she did, she would have rather thrown it at his face than giving him a way to contact her.

"Well then," he started again, not dejected by her refusal in the least. "How about I give you mine?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper, a set of numbers shinning a bright blue.

She raised an eyebrow. Did he carry those around like business cards? To him she glared and crossed her arms in a firm stance. "If you're not ordering I suggest you move out of the line. There are customers waiting to order an actual beverage."

She might as well have told him she agreed to spend the night at his, judging from the smile that crossed his face.

He moved forward, resting his hands on the counter, putting his watch in plain sight for her to notice first. "Then I'll have a filtered coffee - white."

Anna nodded despite the unbearable urge to roll her eyes again and moved to a different coffee machine, already putting his order in. She ignored his eyes on her as she prepared his coffee and out of his line of sight, under the counter, she poured in cold milk instead of the hot milk as the recipe told purposely.

She flashed him a smile, putting the cap on loosely, Kate watching her clumsy work with a curious and a wary eye.

She outstretched the coffee cup towards him and he grinned, reaching for it but the moment his fingers touched it she swung it upside down, the liquid spilling all over his hand and his expensive watch. He dropped the slip of paper on the ground, hissing in pain.

The brunette inwardly rolled her eyes. The coffee was lukewarm at most.

He glared at Anna but she merely gazed back patiently, mock embarrassment on her face. "Sorry," she winced, already grabbing a rag from under the counter in order to clean up the mess she - _he,_ in her view - caused.

His ears burned with embarrassment. "I will report this!"

The brunette simply rolled her eyes, waving. "I will surely be expecting that." He glared, opening his mouth to retort but couldn't come up with a good enough of an argument, instead settling on grabbing a dozen of tissues from the counter and wiping himself off as he walked towards the door to leave.

Anna frowned, wincing once her mind caught onto what she just did. She closed her eyes, face-palming. "Oh no. Our boss is going to fire me!"

Kate guffawed. "Fire you? She's going to to applaud you! He totally deserved it and I am your witness!" She looked at man as he ran out of the coffee shop, breaking his way through the wall of murmuring customers. She laughed, shaking her fist at his retreating form. "That's right, you bastard, you better run!"

Anna chanced a look through her parted fingers, seeing some of the customers were laughing at the display. A few looked on disapprovingly but they were drowned by the cheer of the teenagers in the cue. She slowly looked up, giggling when she realised Kate hadn't stopped laughing, spilling milk all over the work table as she poured the ingredients in a blender for a banana milkshake.

She couldn't help it - her friend's laughter was infectious. The brunette shook her head, allowing a genuine smile to stretch across her face.


	13. Einstein

**A/N: Socialising is so awkward (and consuming of the time I'd rather do more productive things with – like write this for example). How can you people do it? Nevermind, new chapter is up!**

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_(Her father is Erebus, the personification of darkness…)_

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_Anna – or a seven year old self – grinned, stuffing another spoonful of mashed potatoes into her mouth, sighing in content when the warm food warmed her tummy. Her mother shushed her_, _grabbing the tissue by her plate and wiped the corners of the girl's mouth – the child frowning and sticking her tongue out in annoyance when her mother's hand obscured her vision of the black haired man sitting across from her._

_Mark Nixon laughed at the face his daughter pulled from the other end of the table. "Come now, Christina, let the child eat."_

_Christina finished cleaning her daughter's cheeks and sat back down, giving her husband a short glare before picking up the knife and fork again. Her eyes flickered to their guest by her left, smiling out of politeness rather than a desire to do so. _

"_It's so nice for you to come by again, Sam." Her cutlery scraped the plate noisily, cutting into the soft sound of a radio buzzing around the room. No television during dinner. A remote control was hidden in the tallest kitchen cabinet – not that it would stop Anna from finding it later. "We don't see you often."_

_Sam Nixon, Mark's younger brother and one of the youngest successful surgeons in San Francisco smiled back at Christine, waving with a fork in the air and an embarrassed smile on his face. "I'm sorry."_

_Mark rolled his eyes, patting his brother on the shoulder. "Hey, don't worry little man; everyone knows it's hard for you to get here all the way from San Francisco, especially when you're such a busy man."_

_Christine nodded, smiling. "We are all so very proud of you!" She stood, noticing that everybody have more or less finished with their meals. She collected the dishes – Anna frowning when her mother ignored her half full plate – and walked to the kitchen to serve out the desert._

_The child stuck her tongue out at her, waiting for her mother to leave behind the corner when she grabbed her plate and disappeared under the table, feeding her sausages to the family dog. She patted the white ball of fur on the head before resurfacing, smiling innocently when her dad gave her a curious look._

_Her uncle didn't notice the ordeal. Sam blushed in embarrassment at the earlier remarks, burying his face behind a glass of wine. "You all make me out to be like some sort of hero, seriously."_

_His brother waved him off, as his wife came back into the room and placed pink plates with ice-cream and buttered cranberry scones in front of everyone._

_Anna turned towards her with a frown. "Where's mine?" _

_Christine waved her finger at her. "Be patient, Anna, I can't carry it all at once!" She left again and came back within a few moments, carrying Anna's desert and a jar of strawberry jam which she placed in the middle of the table, retaking her seat._

_Her daughter's keen eyes didn't miss her portion being only half of what the adults got. She pouted, cursing her under her breath before grabbing a spoon and stuffing a mouthful of ice-cream in her mouth, focusing her gaze on her uncle._

_Sam's mouth watered at the sight on his plate and picking up a spoon he reached for the jar of jam, drowning his ice-cream in the red paste._

_Anna scanned his clothing with a wary eye, grimacing when she saw him cover his dessert with the jam until it was nothing but a lump in a sea of red. He didn't look like a doctor and he definitely didn't act like one half the time. How could he see through his black hair all puffy and in his eyes like that? And his clothes: a pair of jeans and a black shirt than hung like a potato bag from his thin frame._

_And the way he sat was the most ridiculous of all. He was perched on the chair with his knees to his chest. Anna scoffed – she stopped sitting like that when she was four! What was even more surprising that her parents didn't seem to notice his posture in the least._

_The black circles under his eyes were so prominent he might have not slept for weeks – and it was the only doctor-like thing about him._

_But nevertheless the girl grinned and jumped excitedly in her seat, not even waiting to finish chewing her own food. "I want to be a doctor too!" she mumbled through a mouthful of ice cream and dried fruit._

_And she didn't lie. Her parents and the extended family always talked about her uncle – a _prodigy _they called him. Any easily impressed child would have wanted to be like him and Anna, especially at seven years old, was _very_ easily impressed._

_Mark's heart filled with pride and he reached over his dinner to ruffle his child's hair. "Hey, don't go setting yourself such high targets. You need to work r_eally _hard at school for that, you know?"_

_Anna stuck her nose in the air, defiant. "I shall be doing very well at school, thank you!"_

_Sam raised his eyebrows at his niece, smiling at her as he swallowed a bite of his food. "Really?"_

_Anna nodded, grinning, her eyes shining with admiration. "Yes! I want to be just like _you!"

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* * *

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Anna woke with a start, horrified. She rummaged with the blankets until she was free, her eyes stinging when they came into contact with the harsh daylight.

She grumbled when she saw two bulging eyes staring at her through strands of black hair, already underlined with dark make up to give an illusion of countless sleepless nights.

She scoffed - _yeah right_. The bed basically _reeked_ of him from the amount he spent in it. Anna couldn't get rid of his smell even by changing the sheets. It was as if he _bathed_ in the laundry.

Beyond smiled.

A genuine smile, soft and pulling at Anna's heart, reminding her of the dream she woke from just moments ago.

But it also planted a seed of doubt at the back of her head for the smile – as pleasing as it was to the eye – was unnatural. It pulled awkwardly at his cheeks. In Anna's eyes, a cockroach could have managed a better one.

She shook her head and reached for the nearest pillow, throwing it at his head, nodding in satisfaction when it hit him squarely in the face. "Leave me alone. It's too early."

Beyond crossed his arms, following the pillow with his gaze as it fell to his feet. "It's 4pm. Just because it's the weekend and you don't have work today, does that mean you are going to spend the entire day in bed?"

Anna growled, burying her head under the covers. "Shut up!" she yelled out, cocooning herself into the blankets. "You don't even realise how lucky I am to get today and Sunday off. I still have to make-up for the days I missed. So yes, I do intend to spend the entire day in bed!"

The black haired man shook his head, clicking his tongue in annoyance. "Your under productiveness is irritating."

Anna mimicked him before kicking the wall, disguising the yelp of pain that followed it with a curse word. She freed her head only to glare at the presence by the bed. "Don't you have another person to kill?"

Beyond cocked his head to the side, scratching his chin. "No," he pretended to think, "That comes Tuesday."

The brunette groaned, turning on her back merely so she wouldn't have to face him anymore. "Great. I will have to work after zero hours of sleep again."

"Oh stop complaining," Beyond grabbed the blankets from her shoulders and whipped them from her hold, Anna wincing when she rolled to the opposite direction and painfully hit the wall with her shoulder. He rolled his eyes and threw the blanket on the floor, taking a few steps back in case Anna decided to retaliate and attack him with a kick to the face like the last time he tried to wake her up.

But Anna didn't move to attack him. Instead she fixed him with a death glare through the hair in her face as she slowly crawled out of the bed, yawning and stretching in a manner that reminded Beyond of a cat.

He patted down his trousers from imaginary dust before grinning, unfazed by the look being sent his way as she walked past him. "I am going to take your credit card again. I have a few things I need to buy. And by 'few' I mean _a lot_."

Anna rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. She threw Beyond a disdained look over her shoulder as she stalked to the kitchen with a frown. "I don't understand why you even bother asking. You will take it even if I say no."

Beyond smiled as he scrambled to follow her, dodging the door of the cupboard she opened deliberately for it to get in his way. "Wow, you're finally learning! I'm impressed!"

The medical student didn't even humour him with a response, instead reaching for a bowl, intent on filling it to the brim with cereal and milk. Her eyes jumped to the clock on the wall, confirming that it was indeed mid-afternoon. After pouring in an obscene amount of chocolate hoops she stalked over the fridge and opened it to search for milk only to throw the door closed again, her jaw gritting in anger.

The entirety of the contents in the fridge was replaced by strawberry jam.

She shook her head, muttering under her breath. "Why am I not surprised."

Beyond gave her no notice, instead fixing a baseball cap on her head as he threw on her grey jacket, humming in satisfaction when he felt the weight of her wallet in the left pocket.

Anna heard the nightmarishly happy exclamation of "Goodbye my sweet darling," before the front door was violently shut, the hinges groaning in protest. She hung her head, grabbing a spoon and folding herself into the chair, deciding to chow down on dry cereal. She took her time chewing, her eyes focused on the wall painting, her mind not understanding as to why Beyond felt the need to push at her buttons.

As if it wasn't enough that he took over her personal space, spent her money and dragged her around with him to commit horrifying murders as if the whole ordeal was nothing more than jumping between the rides at a fun fair – it was beyond her control to even keep him out of something as personal as her dreams!

Unbelievable.

After an incredibly late breakfast, Anna showered and changed into a flowery dress and an oversized grey jumper, surprised a little as to why she even felt the need to wear warmer clothes during one of the hottest months of the year. She peaked through the curtains to make sure that Beyond was not strolling up the stairs and fished her school laptop from the bottom draw in her desk, blowing out a sigh of relief when she saw that her _friend_ hasn't done anything degrading to it.

She wouldn't put it past him.

Within a minute she was opening a search program and with shaky but determined fingers typing in two words that she wanted to look up ever since they left Beyond's mouth: Wammy's House.

A measly amount of less than a thousand results in under a second.

And most of them spelled the exactly same sentence:

"_Quillish Wammy, the world wide famous inventor, one of the most successful men to date, has received yet another award for his contribution towards the European Science Association."_

Anna had to scroll through countless pages of non-relevant content before she came upon the bold words that she was actually looking for. With one last glance towards the front door she clicked on the link.

A photograph of an elderly gentleman with grey-white hair stared at her through the blaring screen, the man's blue eyes smiling while his lips remained a straight line. Even if the crisp black tuxedo, a black hat, and a thin pair of glasses on his nose he radiated sophisticated kindness.

She frowned, biting her thumb as she scanned his face, memorising every line, before her eyes moved to read the article.

"_Quillish Wammy, the proclaimed inventor of extraordinary contraptions has established yet another orphanage, this time in the outskirts of Winchester, England. Just like the other orphanages, he used the fortune he earned in his days of invention to build the institution from scratch."_

Anna raised an eyebrow.

Yet another institution?

The brunette leaned closer to the screen, skimming through pages of a dozen articles in what seemed like every language of the world.

Was this the place Beyond was talking about?

It sure didn't sound it. Nothing but good words and praises about Quillish Wammy.

Not a single word about L or his apparent flock of successors.

An unfamiliar paragraph caught her eye and she read it out loud with a raised eyebrow. "Mr Wammy kindly declined the request for an interview but the word has travelled that it's different from other orphanages. Our source informs us that this particular orphanage is for training children with special talents before sending them out into the world where no doubt they will leave a mark of their own. When the rumours were brought upon Mr Wammy's attention he smiled and shook his head, denying them. 'Every child is special,' he said as he stepped one foot into a slick black limousine, smiling mischievously, no doubt already planning another spectacular invention. 'Children are the future of this world and every orphanage I established is the same – merely a duty I must perform.' He says no more, perhaps letting us spend our time pondering over his words. But one thing for sure: the whole world is thankful for his existence."

The hit count on the bottom of the website informed her that only seven people have read the article.

Hello, Mr Popular.

Or perhaps it was intentional? Anna scratched the back of her head, humming under her breath.

Was the orphanage established in Winchester the so called Wammy's house?

Were the rumours true? It seemed so.

Anna groaned, burying her face in her palm when her head swam. Despite the fact she told Beyond she believed him, a part of her was sceptical.

Well… _Was…_

Now the small flicker of doubt was gone and she didn't like the way the heavy feeling of guilt flooded her. Great, now she felt sorry for a man who she was sure has never let a word of truth leave his mouth. She pulled at her hair, swallowing down the bile that has risen in her throat.

How horrible.

A disgusting prison disguised as an innocent orphanage. Anna could understand L's want – no, _need _– to acquire a successor in case he died while solving one of his pretentious cases – something Anna doubted considering the detective has never risked showing his face in public.

But to go about it like this? Anna's lips tugged downwards, trying to imagine a life in such a place. Were all the children forced to succeed until the point where suicidal thoughts invaded their minds? Or only the best suffered such fate? Perhaps the rest were safe? Taught only to explore their own talents until – as the article said – they were ready to go out in the world and change it for the better.

Or where those children casted aside, ignored once it was confirmed they proved not sufficient enough to succeed L?

Anna wanted to laugh. No wonder Beyond killed people.

She didn't blame Wammy's house for causing insanity – such a claim would be rather farfetched and one sided in her books – but such atmosphere is without a doubt a feeding ground for mental instability.

Like A and Beyond.

Suddenly her laptop closed shut and she jumped before swallowing, following the trail up the pale long arm until she stared into Beyond's clouded eyes cast in a shadow. She gulped, waiting for him to yell, to say anything, but he simple stared, his lips sent in a frown.

After a long, tense moment of silence he sighed, dropping a heavy bag on the ground with a thud. He shook his head as if disappointed. "After all we've been through I thought you would trust me."

Anna scoffed crossing her arms and rose to her feet in as much of an intimidating manner as she could – which wasn't a lot. She resembled more of a proud toddler.

"Please. You do not seriously think that I believe a single word you say."

Beyond's eyes scanned her face before he grinned. His sinister smile was more of a welcomed sight than Anna dare to admit, despite the chill that ran through her. "Well," he began as he took off the baseball cap and the jacket, laying it over the desk chair. "Evidently, you do."

Anna rolled her eyes, defiant, before she noticed the white plastic bag and motioned towards it. "What's inside?"

Beyond swung on his feet excitedly as he reached inside and pulled out a baseball bat. Anna stared as he swung it around before propping it against his shoulder. "It's a baseball bat!"

The brunette could have face-palmed. "Yes, Beyond," she began slowly, as if talking to a five year old. "I know what a baseball bat is."

The man in front of her either didn't register her tone or chose to ignore it. "On our third adventure we shall conduct an experiment."

"An Experiment?"

"I want to see whether it is possible to die solely from-"

Anna rubbed her eyes when her vision suddenly turned hazy and his words were deafened by a high pitched screech. She blinked once, twice when the vision didn't clear, only for it to become murkier.

"Uh oh," she muttered, immediately recognising the symptoms. She flailed for a surface to lean on, swaying to the side and stumbling a few steps to the right when her fingers grasped empty air. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and Anna's breath caught in her throat, slowly falling backwards until her back connected to the floor with a loud thud, her heels bouncing from the impact.

Beyond stared, frozen mid speech. For a moment he thought she was being over dramatic and would begin to complain like a child at the pain from the impact of her body hitting the ground.

But she didn't. Anna remained still, unmoving, and soon the serial killer slowly lowered the baseball bat onto the floor, wincing.

She _actually_ fainted.

.

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**Hmm. Seems there might be something wrong with Ana – progressively for a while now. Theories? Please review!**


	14. Demolition

**A/N: Announcement (in case people haven't been to my profile): I changed my name from** speaking . wolf ** to **dislocation**. I thought I'd let anyone know in case of confusion. It is still me. ^_^**

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_(…whose dark mists enveloped every corner of the world…)_

_._

Anna never believed in the supernatural. Even as a child she laughed at the stories of ghosts and werewolves and demons - something she puts down to her parents never giving her the joy of believing in Santa Claus. She spent her entire life building her arguments on scientific facts and evidence. Perhaps that was the reason she admired her uncle's profession in the first place.

May he rest in peace.

Sam Nixon – who looked _nothing _like Beyond, and Anna didn't understand in the least why he took his place in her dream – despite not even having enough free time to get the recommended daily hours of sleep, was always a crutch in Anna's life. When she didn't outgrow her adoration for him he dropped the smile and dedicated his time to helping her. It was with his help that Anna managed to confirm a place in the South California's Medical School.

He was a man of science, with an incredible influence over her life. An influence that ended on September 11 the year before, while he was in a medical conference in New York, suffocating within minutes in the cloud of debris created by thousands of tons of concrete plummeting to the ground. Anna was devastated but not once did she utter a prayer.

Of course like any American she often remarked about heaven and hell – the only difference between her and the rest where that her claims never held any substance.

And her views never were challenged until Beyond came into her life less than a month ago.

But when she sat there in the hospital waiting room for her appointment with her doctor she couldn't help but let her mind wander to the dream – or hallucination, whatever it was – of the Shinigami.

All because of her deteriorating health. Anna couldn't understand what in the hell was going on with her body. She ran through the main symptoms in her head: nausea, light-headedness, panic attacks, migraines, the inability to keep down the food she ate and the heartache which felt like she was being repeatedly stabbed in the chest – after yesterday's morning she was forced to add fainting to the list – and even after hours of pondering she drew a blank.

She vomited seven times before her morning appointment at 10:30 am.

A new record.

When she woke after passing out the night before Beyond proceeded to laugh in her face, mocking her for not being able to handle the mere sound of gore. She responded with a punch to his jaw, not bothering to enter a verbal argument knowing that he wouldn't listen either way.

She knew that his speech about the impending third murder was not what caused her reaction. She was a medical student for Christ sake! She could handle it. The most she felt when faced with a gruesome article was feel sick – and even that didn't last for longer than a moment.

Her _fainting_ at the sight of blood was a ridiculous claim.

So there she was waiting for a gap in the doctor's schedule, having taken two blood tests two hours ago, determined not to leave his office until he explained every detail of what was going on.

She could see her hands, resting on her thighs and even in a still position they shook. She was thankful that she wasn't a high school student, having to return to school in less than a week. South California's Medical Institution started its Autumn Semester a month later than others.

A month.

That's how long Anna had to figure all of this out and her mind wondered whether Beyond would remain in her life for so long. She shook her head, focusing on the problem at hand. If she didn't deal with her poor health, she would risk her hands shaking over a body on an autopsy table.

Which would be very, _very_ bad.

She would be kicked out before she even had the chance to _observe_ a minor operation.

"Miss Nixon?"

Anna looked up from her hands, squinting when the overly bright ceiling lights blinded her. A middle aged nurse with a painted smile motioned for the girl to follow her into the small office, the smell of medical detergent immediately wafting into her nostrils.

She tried to react as inconspicuously as she could but still her cheeks puffed and her breath hitched in her throat, her hands flying to cover her mouth.

Even the morgue she visited on special assignments in school didn't stink that bad.

Dr Marshall Jones rose from his seat, straightening his white lab coat. He stuck his hand for Anna to shake – an action the girl hesitated to pursue due to having to breathe in the chemical air. "It's nice to see you again Anna," he said, chuckling at her discomfort as he dropped her hand and motioned for her to sit on an armchair. "Don't worry I find the smell too much as well sometimes. When I joined the medical profession I assumed the aim was not to trigger an allergic reaction – ironic isn't it. It seems the air itself has been scrubbed."

He settled into his own seat - after the medical secretary handed him a thin paper bound file and turned back to work besides a computer screen - with a paper covered desk in between them. He leaned on his elbows, opening the file and scanning his eyes over the small print, humming.

Dr Jones looked up with a smile. "How are you today anyway? Must be serious to come to the hospital on a Sunday." Anna didn't reply, instead pointedly staring at her test results in front of him, frowning when it was too far for her to read. The doctor chuckled, nodding. "Alright, I get it. You haven't changed a bit – always straight to the point."

He was the doctor to the Nixons for 20 years – ever since Anna's parents got married. Such a long term commitment was surprising to say the least – Mark and Christina were very hard to impress and abandoned things at the sight of a slightest fault.

Anna sighed in relief, immediately regretting once she breathed in again, her hands slowly rising to her mouth before she managed to stop them and force them under her legs. "Give it to me straight, doc."

The doctor laughed, the crow's feet by his eyes more defined when his eyes narrowed in laughter. He cleared his throat and read the file more closely, picking up the pen and scrawling down a few words in the illegible script all the doctors share.

The girl sighed, rolling her eyes as she looked around uncomfortably, her foot tapping. The blue curtain swayed gently as the fresh breeze slowly pumped the room through the open window. Her eyes rested on a family photograph: Dr Jones with his two sons over whom he has partial custody with his ex-wife.

Anna couldn't even recall _why _she knew such a personal detail.

"What were your symptoms again?" The doctor asked as he put down the file, focusing on his patient's wandering eyes.

She looked up, pretending to think for a moment. "It's as I wrote it down on the form with the blood tests. I'm not able to keep down any food. I keep passing out. My vision is getting worse by the day…"

Dr. Marshall Jones nodded, scanning the girl's withered form. "Well this might come as a disappointment to you, Miss Nixon, but I honestly can't see anything wrong with you. Your blood pressure is just as healthy as it has always been and I can't see any problem with your heart. The only thing I can note on is that your nutrient levels are low." He gave her a disapproving look. "We talked about this a few times before – you need to eat properly! You're always running out of iron and I believe it's been over a year now since you've had your last menstrual cycle."

His patient shifted in her seat, mumbling in her breath. "I am eating enough food – it simply doesn't give my body the chance to absorb any of it."

The man in front of her didn't give a sign of having heard her, instead clearing his throat again before continuing. "My best guess is that you're simply too stressed lately. I believe I don't need to explain the major effect stress could have on the physical body to a medical student."

Anna's vision blurred before the black shadow morphed back into her doctor and she blinked, registering his words. She could have face-palmed. "Stress? Seriously?"

Dr Jones shrugged with an apologetic smile on his face as he closed the file and tapped his fingers on the cover. "I could recommend further testing but I believe it would simply waste your time. Just try to take it easy for a while and the symptoms should lessen. Enjoy the rest of your holidays! You still take the medication prescribed by Dr Foveaux for your PTSD, correct?" Anna nodded out of instinct. "Well then there's nothing to worry about. But do contact me if it worsens! And make sure to eat properly too."

Anna sighed but nodded, offering the doctor a tight smile. She sat on the edge of her seat awkwardly tapping her fingers on her knees before she realised the doctor tapped the pen on his desk impatiently, expecting her to leave. The secretarial nurse loudly cleared her throat, making Anna jump, already holding the door open.

With the glare she had fixed on her, the medical student rushed out of the office, suddenly aware why as a child, the moments she didn't spend wanting to be a doctor, she spent being frightened to death of them.

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* * *

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Anna shut the front door to her apartment and sighed, resting her forehead against the cool surface.

Half a day, _wasted_.

Letting out a heavy breath she turned, dropping her bag to the floor, ignoring the apples that rolled out from the paper grocery bag and onto the carpet. She dragged her feet towards the bed fully intent on falling face first into the blankets, rubbing her eyes before they focused on Beyond.

The black haired man sat in front of her school laptop, one leg to his chest and the other crossed beneath him, his pale face almost ghostly in the darkened room.

Anna stared, her jaw gritting as her teeth scraped in anger. "What are you doing?"

Beyond didn't even look at her, his eyes flickering across the screen, a thumb to his lips. "Perhaps you should add blindness to your list of symptoms."

Anna barked out a sarcastic laugh. _Very funny_.

She growled, stomping over to him and trying to take her shoes off in the process, annoyed that he took her school computer. "But it's password protected!" Beyond scoffed as if the concept posed him no more threat than a cockroach. She stumbled into step behind him, her eyes squinting as she tried to look at the screen past the white glare.

She immediately recognised the Wara Ningyo dolls, Believe Bridesmaid's mutilated chest and Quarter Queen's blonde locks matted with blood.

"Are- Are those the crime scene photos? I don't remember seeing them in the paper – Did you just hack into the police's archives?"

"Do not fret: they won't notice my presence."

Anna stood, pointing at the back of his head, her eyes flickering between his hair and the screen, the entire time her mouth closing and opening soundlessly. He waved it off like it was no big deal!

Finally she gave up, not finding any energy to argue with the maniac, announcing she was going to take a shower – jabbing at him with her eyes a warning not to do anything funny – and hoping that the warm water could wash away her thoughts the way it washed away the dirt.

It didn't.

Mostly due to the reason that two minutes through washing her hair she threw up again, the half-digested pieces of a pastry she grabbed on the way home, all over her. She spent the next thirty minutes scrubbing the skin raw with soap, screeching the words "Ew, ew, ew, ew!" at the top of her lungs.

She climbed out of the bath even more exhausted, ignoring when her rough grip on the shower curtain ripped it off and it fell to her feet. She wiped the condensation from the mirror with her palm, frowning when she noticed that her hair was visibly thinner, and her cheekbones stuck out more than she recalled.

She scratched her head, reaching for the towel to dry herself with. "Perhaps I _am_ wasting away." She rubbed her tummy, reminding herself to eat three dinner's worth of food as soon as she got out. She smiled, deciding on pizza, her mouth already watering merely at the thought of the melting cheese.

She reached for her clothes, only to roll her eyes when she realised she didn't bring a change. She wrapped the towel as tightly around her as she could while still allowing herself to breath, cracking open the window to let the steam out.

Anna opened the bathroom door slowly, distracted by the tremors running through her arm only for Beyond to fall at her feet with a yelp, immediately rubbing his sore head. She screamed, jumping back and pointing her index finger at him.

"What the hell are you doing, you pervert!"

Beyond groaned, her shrill voice not helping the pain he felt. He stood to his feet, unaffected by the horror filled glare that was directed at him.

Anna kicked Beyond, enjoying the pained howls he released, all the way back to the main room, yelling all the profanities that came to mind. She rested her hand on her knees, feeling the energy drain her by the second.

"I," she puffed, "hate you."

The black haired man rubbed his aching limps, rising to his feet from his position on the floor. "That was uncalled for!" he wailed.

She scoffed, sticking her nose in the air defiantly. She observed with glee that a bruise was forming on his collarbone and her laptop was put away. She stared down at him through her eyelashes. "I am ordering a pizza and I am not giving you a single bite."

Beyond rolled his eyes, straightening out, not quite sure as to how that particular statement was any sort of a punishment. "You are over-reacting. I simply heard a yell and was worried for you safety."

Anna scanned his face, not liking the look of innocence plastered all over it. She tightened the grip on her towel, rummaging through her draws before pulling out a black t-shirt and a pair of shorts – making sure to bury her underwear in-between the two articles of clothing.

"Don't ignore me," Beyond complained, stepping to stand in front of her. "I was looking out for you! And you repay me by kicking me!?"

Anna hesitated in her way back to the bathroom, _smelling the lie_, before recollecting her breath and with a deep sigh she stepped around him, repeating to herself that punching him would not be worth the knuckle pain.

"Besides, you really should not be that embarrassed. Most of the women your age have boyfriends, do you not have one?"

Well there went _that _self-control. Anna whirled around, her eyes flaring. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Beyond shrugged, reaching for a nearby book and opening it to a random page. "I am simply curious. I have deduced so far that you haven't had a romantic interest for a few years now, which when put against the fact that 70% of the college aged students have a boyfriend or a girlfriend is a little surprising considering you don't seem to be against the concept. Of course I could be wrong – after all I have observed multiple men express interest in you and yet you often remain oblivious to their intentions-"

"Please stop talking," Anna interrupted, having stopped listening the moment he mentioned percentages, folding her arms. Beyond gave her a glance, raising an eyebrow, but quieting never the less. "Whenever you open your mouth I just have this unbearable urge to hit you."

The black haired man rolled his eyes, turning back to the book in his hand. "I'll take that as a no, then."

The girl stomped her feet, annoyed. She clearly saw through his ignorance to the fact that he was only reading the book to appear nonchalant. "And what if you are wrong? You don't follow me to work! I could be meeting with somebody there."

Beyond gave her a disbelieving look, fighting the smile that made his lips twitch upwards. "You are a rather bad liar, Anna Nixon, did anybody tell you? Well, perhaps that's not quite the right way to put it. You are a good enough of a liar, but when it comes to me you should be aware that lying is pointless. I very much doubt you have a romantic partner I am unaware of."

The girl in question raised a challenging eyebrow. "And why's that?"

"You wouldn't be blushing right now if you did."

She scoffed. She was _not _blushing.

Anna gave him one last glare before marching back to the bathroom and shutting the door with a bang that caused Beyond's ears to ring. She let out a huff, giving her reflection a glance, yelling out in terror when she saw the red on her cheeks.

This couldn't be happening.

Grabbing a corner of the towel and dropping her clothes on the floor in the process she roughly wiped at her cheek as if the red tint were nothing but paint. All it did was make it worse. Anna pouted, cursing Beyond under her breath while throwing the towel away from her and scrambling to change, avoiding her reflection the entire time.

He could threaten to kill her as much as he wanted – she would be getting the bed tonight.

.

* * *

**A/N: And this chapter shows how the medical system fails so many of us. JUST KIDDING – I simply wanted to be an asshole to Anna and not let her find out why she feels like utter crap. ****Please Review!**


	15. God Save the Queen

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_(…and consumed the deepest hollows of the earth.)_

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"You shouldn't be doing this, you know." Rem watched my back as I walked down the darkened tunnel. I paid her no mind, grinning when the headdress' feathers crawled down my skull and onto my back and my shoulder blades sprouted outwards, immediately growing feathers to create my wings. "I will never understand your or Ryuk's fascination with the humans they are disgusting race."

Her voice rang in my ears as I prepared to enter the human world – I waved her off. She would not blab to the old man. The whirlpool blinded me in a flash of white before I was flying through an unusually rainy early morning, not being able to stop myself from grinning when the fresh air hit my nose.

Ah, the sweet human world!

The shinigami realm is more rotten than the creatures occupying the wastelands. Ryuk never stops complaining about his precious apples tasting like muddy sand. And yet although we moaned about our realm without stop, many of us were too lazy to move to do anything about it - not that we could.

I sighed, folding my arms across my chest. Anna's apartment was exhaustingly tiny and even sitting with my legs crossed on the ground didn't help. I waited for the Los Angeles favourite serial killer to leave of course before I ascended down into the human world, and landed noiselessly on the roof, the old landlord beneath me jumping when a few tiles fell.

She paused in her way of dumping the garbage, her eyes squinting through the rain.

She could not see me.

Not that I cared. My attention was on Beyond who was burying his hair under his cap and throwing a black backpack over his shoulder. He did hesitate to walk out of the door however, his usual disguise in place and I frowned, not liking the way his eyes rested on Anna's sleeping form. He scratched at his neck before shaking his head and shutting the door.

His head snapped upwards when my wings retreating back onto the headdress made another tile drop. He squinted, his hand above his head. He could not see me either and even if he could I would not appear more than a shadow – It was one of the few things I was in the unknown about for if he was able to see me he surely made no move to clarify that he did. Shaking his head again he focused past the railings onto the ground below him, waiting for the landlord to go back inside before he slithered down the stairs.

I cocked my head to the side, the headdress sliding to cover one of my eyes as I followed his wiry form down the street. Only when he rounded the corner did I let myself move through the roofing, landing in my position directly beside Anna's bed.

I grinned, unable to keep my limbs from twitching when she turned in her bed at my presence, blinking harshly against the morning light. I could not contain my excitement, looking forward to the scream she will release once she notices my presence.

I shifted in anticipation, waiting for the dramatic reaction…

…that never came.

Her eyes focused on me and they rolled, the girl sitting up until she was able to cross her legs and - after she released an elongated yawn - her arms soon followed suit.

I frowned, cocking my head to the side. "Good morning?" I didn't mean for it to come out as a question was but I was unable to hide my surprise.

"Oh great – you were real."

I frowned, scratching at my chest, confused. "You still thought I was a hallucination?"

She gave me a death stare. "I was _hoping._"

Ah.

Anna shook her head, willing the blood to return to her legs as she sluggishly moved from the bed, her eyes on me the entire time. "What are you doing here?"

I shrugged, grinning. "I was bored." The moment those words left my lips I barked out a laugh. Such an excuse would be something Ryuk would use to justify any of his actions. Perhaps he has rubbed off on me.

The little bug was still avoiding the Shinigami King. I heard Armonia simply laughed in his face.

Anna stared at me, my laughter dying down to bursts of giggles, and stood on her feet, stretching as she yawned again. She scratched the nest of hair on her head and frowned. "That still doesn't answer my question."

My mouth twitched and I smirked, her frustration amusing. Instead of answering her, I pointed to her attire of a baggy t-shirt and a pair of pyjama shorts, laughing when she followed the direction of my finger and flushed, grabbing the nearest article of clothing – a long sleeved black shirt - and pulling it violently over her head until it fell to the middle of her thighs.

I never understood why humans didn't simply sleep in their clothes. Don't the so called 'pyjamas' simply defeat the purpose of getting ready quickly in the morning?

She freed her hair from under the collar only to put it up in a ponytail. "So what brings you to the human world, monster?"

"I am a shinigami," I corrected her with a growl, gritting my teeth when she merely waved me off and stalked around her apartment in search of shoes. "And what is it of interest to you? Perhaps I simply wanted to check up on my favourite human."

She barked a laugh before it died down and she looked at me suspiciously. "Hang on a minute…" She started, her eyes slowly widening. She stood to full height, only having pulled one a single white shoe and slowly walked towards me, her hands curling to her fists. I shifted uncomfortably, almost hearing the gears turning and clicking in her head as she slowly came upon the realisation. "It was you!"

I rolled my eyes, shrugging my shoulders as I examined a bookshelf a little to my left, not surprised in the least when I didn't recognise most of the titles. "What are you talking about?"

She gaped comically, jumping in my way and trying to grab a book I picked up by two claws. I simply raised it above her head, enjoying her struggling. She glared at me, her red cheeks straining when she grit her teeth. "I realise now! I only started feeling ill when you brought me to that monster world thing!"

"The Shinigami Realm," I corrected her again with a frown. "How many times must I correct you?"

She waved her hands in the air. "Whatever! It's all your fault! What the hell did you do to me?"

I sniffed the air, grinning when I recognised the scent of human food. I ignored Anna's angry and shaking form and made for the source of the food, immediately recognising the fridge. I threw it open, my mouth watering the moment I saw a plate of cake slices.

Anna scrambled to follow me, raising an eyebrow when she noticed my stare down with the brown coloured sugary dessert.

"Uh… that's cake. I ordered it along with the pizza yesterday... And don't ignore me, you idiot!"

I placed a clawed hand on her face – Anna squealing in protest and immediately moving to get it off her head – and pushed her blabbering mouth away, satisfied when she feel back on her behind, rubbing her back in pain as she glared up at me.

"I know what a cake is," I gave her a sideways glance before grinning and stabbing a claw through one of the pieces. I held it up in front of me, sniffing it, jumping for joy – making Anna yelp – when I could detect chocolate. I opened my mouth, ignoring the way Anna gagged at the sight of my jagged teeth and held the slice above my throat. It slowly slid off my claw and I chewed the dessert noisily.

I hummed in satisfaction. Now I understood why Shinigamis that have been to the human world have never been able to look at shinigami food the same.

It was _delicious._ My stomach was filled with rainbows and I wouldn't be surprised if it grew a mouth of its own.

Silly humans. They wait their whole lives wanting to go to heaven not realising that the heaven was in their sweets.

Anna stuck her tongue out in disgust, her stomach flipping. "My god, that has to be the most revolting way to consume a cake."

I waved her off, shoving my hook in her view threateningly. She shut up immediately as she rubbed the back of her head and slowly got on her feet. I didn't pay her much attention, my eyes focused the rest of the cake.

I reached for the plate, balancing it on my hand and raised it to the level of my head, tilting it. I could feel my bones cracking as my jaw stretched until it covered the side of the plate. I waited for the cake to slide into my throat and tossed the dish over my shoulder, ignoring when it shattered on the floor.

Anna groaned beside me and when my eyes flickered to hers – crumbs falling from between the chomps of my teeth – I saw her doubled over, her hands over her mouth. "I spoke too soon," she mumbled through her fingers. She dared a look at my face and cringed, her eyes closing as she turned away, wrinkling her nose.

I laughed, pouting when a piece of cake fell from my mouth and onto the floor. I swallowed the chewed paste and let myself release a loud burp, simply to annoy the human in the room.

"I can't believe this," she muttered under her breath. She whirled to me, her eyes flashing. "Turn me back to normal this instant!"

I rubbed my tummy, wiping my hands on the fur hanging off my hips. The skulls hanging off the belt clinked together as I moved towards her, grinning. I lapped up what chocolate remained on my teeth with my tongue, laughing when Anna pulled a face.

She quickly composed herself, crossing her arms and stomping her foot. It was a rather humorous sight. She didn't pose me more threat than a five year old child. She didn't even reach my chest. I leaned towards her, grinning when she had to double over backwards to be able to see my face.

"Undo whatever you did to me!" I had to give the human girl some credit. Despite being visibly shaken she kept her voice relatively steady. A bead of sweat broke on her forehead but she didn't reach to wipe it away. "I can't go on feeling like I am dying. I command you to fix me."

I laughed uncontrollably at her outburst. Laughed until I couldn't breathe no more and then laughed a little longer for we shinigamis do not need air. I quieted down, cocking my head to the side. One of the feathers rested on top of Anna's head as she stared defiantly. I smiled happily, stretching my arms to my sides as if ready to bow. "No can do."

"What?!"

If it was humanly possible her jaw would have stretched all the way to the floor.

I simply grinned, rocking on my heels as I adjusted the headdress and stroked the feathers affectionately. I could see Anna's ears reddening by the second before she was shaking, visibly ready to explode.

"What the hell man!?" she bellowed, her feet shaking and for a moment I admired her strength for staying rooted to the spot. "Change me back to normal!"

The front door opened with a loud thud and Beyond stumbled in, immediately throwing off the baseball cap and letting in a deep breath as if the article of clothing obscured his breathing. The black backpack, where previous it sagged now it stuck out erect, with something heavy inside, visibly digging into the black haired man's shoulders.

The girl in front of me jumped in joy, immediately leaping towards him. "Hey, I didn't even notice you were out but thank god, you're back! Beyond, tell him to change me back or I won't be able to help you with your stupid murders anymore!"

Beyond looked up with wide eyes, his steps hesitant with confusion and he slowly swung the door shut, gently laying the bag on the ground as if it was fragile. "Wha-"

Anna didn't even wait for him to finish the question. She ran towards him and tugged on his arm, dragging him deeper into the room. "Just say you'll kill him or something!"

I rolled my eyes, scratching at my chest with a hook. "You can't kill a shinigami," I deadpanned, frowning when she didn't pay any attention to me and instead whirled Beyond around so he was facing me. "Look!"

Stupid girl.

Beyond stared right through me, sweatdropping. "There's no one there Anna," he said slowly, as if talking to a child. He turned to go towards the kitchen but Anna stood in his way, pointing at me with both of her hands.

"But the monster is _right there_!" Her voice was beginning to strain and her chest rose and fell heavily and she coughed into her hand, whipping whatever left he throat onto her shirt with a disgusted look.

"_Shi-ni-ga-mi."_

He sighed in exasperation, tilting his head to the side and raising an eyebrow. Anna simply gritted her teeth as she held her breath, furiously jabbing her fingers in my direction. He threw his arms in the air as he glared at Anna. "What the hell do you want?"

I couldn't help but laugh at the hopeless look on Anna's face as she stumbled over the word "but" repeatedly. Beyond simply stared at her with disbelief, impatiently tapping his foot on the ground.

He jumped back with surprise when Anna jumped towards him and placing her palms on either side of his face she forcefully turned his head towards me. Beyond froze at the contact, his eyes focused on the side of her face. Anna, oblivious, let go of his face and pointed towards me again. "Just look!"

Beyond obliged her, his eyes scanning the room before he turned back to her. He shook his head in disappointment, taking a step away from her, his cheeks still burning from the contact. "I think you're going insane. Seeing things is a dangerous sign you know." He stepped around her and walked towards the fridge, grabbing a jar of jam, his eyes lingering on the empty spot where the cake was before I gobbled it. "Where did all the cake go? Did you consume it?" He gave her a glance over his shoulder before shrugging. "No wonder you have stomach troubles."

Anna gaped, whirling to glare at me. "Why the hell can't he see you?"

I grinned. "Human beings can't see the shinigami unless they have touched their Death Notes."

She frowned. "Death what?.." Her voice trailed off before she shook her head and pointed an accusing finger at me. "Then why the hell can I see you?"

Instead of answering her I focused my eyes on Beyond who shivered as if sensing the gaze and stopped mid sip from a jar of strawberry jam, his eyes flickering to Anna before he jumped, as if having remembered something and clumsily placed the jar on the counter, rushing towards his bag.

I followed him curious while Anna grumbled in the background, her words too muffled under her breath to even represent the English language. She quieted down when she too noticed Beyond was reaching from his bag. He pulled out three Wara Ningyo dolls but those were immediately discarded to the side.

What he wanted to show us fit snugly in his palm and Anna raised an eyebrow when he approached her and stuck his hand out, a rectangular piece of paper in his palms.

"I printed these out today!" he announced proudly, his eyes shining.

Anna reached for it carefully, as if it was poisoned and brought it to her eyes with a frown, reading the two lines of writing out loud. She shifted awkwardly, the corners of her lips pulling downwards. "Rue Ryuzaki: Detective." She looked up, unimpressed.

Beyond grinned, nodding. "It's my business card!"

Anna clutched the card in a fist, laughing. "You? A detective?" She giggled, waving the card in his face. "Is this supposed to full me or yourself?"

The dejected man snatched the card away from her, cursing under his breath as he pocketed it, folding his arms over his chest and patiently waiting for Anna to stop giggling. "If I have correctly calculated the future events I will need to pose as a private investigator."

Anna laughed again, wincing when her stomach muscles hurt from the action. I joined in, letting out a giggle myself, simply for the girl's laughter was contagious. She breathed in heavily, her shoulders shaking. "Who the hell is going to believe that you're a detective?"

Beyond stuck out his chest, his hands on his hips. "Apparently a lot of people. I have already been hired by Believe Bridesmaid and Quarter Queen's next of kin to investigate their loved one's deaths."

The brunette snorted, shaking her head. "Yeah right." Beyond's gaze didn't waver; he simply raised an eyebrow, making no move to show that he was kidding.

Anna stopped laughing immediately, her smile dropping in an instant. She turned to me for help but I slowly sauntered into the shadows, sensing the tenseness of the situation. "Goodbye, Anna," I smiled mischievously, before walking through the walls, waving goodbye with my hook. She gaped, whirling back to Beyond her hands outstretched in a disbelieving manner.

He simply stared expectantly.

She let out a sarcastic laugh, shaking her head and crossing her arms. "Please tell me that you're joking."

Beyond stuck his nose in the air, closing one of his eyes and scoffed. "I would explain it to you, but after all you're seeing things so I highly doubt your current state is able to absorb important information."

"Hey!" Anna exclaimed, taking a threatening step towards him and poking him in the chest. "I am not seeing things! And why the hell would you do something as stupid as pretend to investigate the murders? Are you _trying _to get caught?"

The man in question rolled his eyes. "You're over-reacting. This was always a part of my plan."

"Wha-" The girl wasn't even able to finish a single word. She looked around her in search for something to help her but not a single inanimate object came to her aid. She pouted, stomping her foot on the ground. She surveyed the killer in front of her. "Maybe I _am_ going insane."

Beyond laughed with relief. "Finally, you realise!"

Anna frowned, scratching at the back of her neck. "You're not supposed to agree with me, you idiot."

He cocked his head to the side. "Then what am I _supposed_ to say?"

The girl threw her hands in the air. "I don't know. Something comforting I guess?"

He snorted. "And what makes you think I'd ever say something of the sort?"

I observed from my spot on the nearby lamppost in the street as the two continued arguing, blinking as the rain transformed from a light shower to a heavy pour. I shrugged, giving Anna's thin form one more look over before focusing on the numbers above her head. I frowned, noticing they went down. Only a flicker, by a single digit but that does not happen normally.

The numbers above human's heads, the representation of their lifespan, only changes if that particular human made a deal with a god of death for the shinigami eyes, the years they have left reducing by a half. Otherwise, the numbers don't change even if we shinigamis write down their names into our notes: they simply die at an earlier time.

The red numbers are not a representation of a major accident or an illness – it is the end of their given time in the human world. It cannot be stopped or avoided therefore they do not change.

I scratched my chest, ready to prepare my wings to fly. Perhaps I could ask Armonia what could cause the numbers go down?

No. He will be curious as to why I was asking.

That path was out of the question. I would have to figure it out myself. I smiled when the tips of my wings hung over my head, and I reached with a claw to stroke the feathers that would usually decorate my headdress.

Time to go home.

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* * *

**A/N: I can't remember if I mentioned it already, but if anyone's not aware of what the shinigami Zerhogie looks like simply type his name into an image search. Beside Ryuk he is my favourite death god – hence why I made him the narrator. Tell me what you think of this chapter!**


	16. Stock Market

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_(His beloved wife drew those very mists in her chariot across the heavens...)_

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Anna gave the wooden counter one last scrub before she breathed out a heavy sigh and let her forehead hit the surface, pushing the dishrag away from her. Kate raised an eyebrow, her eyes momentarily distracted from the magazine she was reading.

The brunette raised her head when the door opened, an elderly woman taking slow shaky steps inside. Before she could even blink Kate had thrown the magazine under the counter, ready to take the order. Anna sighed, giving her friend a small glare as she placed her chin on her palm, her head turning to look at the clock behind them.

Only a single hour until closing and not a single customer in sight.

In fact, the old woman – who now happily carried away a large caramel latte with a smile on her face – was the only customer in the last half hour.

Kate yawned loudly, stretching before crossing her arms and resting them on the counter, giving Anna a sideways glance. "Man," she groaned, blinking heavily, "today is such a slow day."

Anna shrugged, her eyes on the darkening sky outside. "Perhaps there's something big going on downtown."

The blonde pouted. "Ha, like I would know that. I'm only interested in the big stuff, like the L.A. Serial Locked Room Killings or that conflict between Spain and Morocco."

"Doesn't surprise me."

Kate hummed, a finger to her lips, completely disregarding the statement. "Now that you mention it I think there's that super famous footballer signing autographs for his book down in the central library. I bet that's what it is! Everybody's downtown to see what's-his-face."

Anna let out a laugh, scratching her head, and rested her head on her arms, letting out a heavy breath.

She hated when it wasn't busy. Her thoughts took over. Well, they would always be in the back of her head but it was always so much easier to ignore them when she was focusing on punching in an order, or pouring exactly three tablespoon's worth of whipped cream on an iced coffee, or process the order for a tall mocha for a regular customer and try to calculate how much money they would save a year if they only bought the drink three times a week and not every weekday.

But without the robotic actions the day was a drag and her mind could not stop wandering back to the day before – more specifically the shinigami's visit. She couldn't shake the disturbance of the fact she was the only one who could see him and she could not come up with a scientific explanation as to why.

Well, realistically she did come up with one reason – he was nothing more than a figment of her imagination. Perhaps her parents were right: she did have a screw loose and it has finally dropped.

Only there was a problem: she was sure now that it wasn't her imagination.

And that fact only made it more frustrating and coupled with the piercing headache she had all day long it was beginning to be one of the worst days of her life in a long while.

"_Human beings can't see the shinigami unless they have touched their Death Notes."_

Anna huffed, the sound muffled by her arms, and ignored the bell signalling a new customer and Kate's excited gasp.

She had no idea what the hell a _death note_ was, the only cloud of familiarity was that she was convinced the shinigami had mentioned it before, but she was sure she never touched anything of the sort.

She felt a poke to her shoulder and she snapped her head up with a glare, expecting Kate to command her to do another annoying task like sprinkling the chocolate powder on the hot chocolate in shape of a kitten.

..?!

It wasn't Kate standing next to her. The blonde _was_ smiling, and_ winking_, over a black haired man's shoulder, wiggling her eyes brows suggestively.

Anna gaped at Beyond, her expression a mix of horror and surprise.

Kate bumped her shoulder against his and grinned. "How nice of you to come by, Tom."

He held up the rag from the wooden surface beside him with two fingers, looking at distastefully. Although he spoke to Kate, his eyes were trained on the dirty article in front of him.

"Good evening Kate."

Anna grabbed the rag from him, throwing it behind the counter and her eyes flashed, her upper lip curling. "What the hell are you doing here?" she hissed, throwing cautious glances around her, thankful for once that there weren't any customers in sight.

Beyond frowned, stuffing his hands in his jean pockets. Anna raked her eyes over his appearance, raising an eyebrow when she noted his choice of a black knitted wool jumper and a grey beanie hat, strands of dark hair poking out from underneath.

"I said," Anna gritted out, with a pointed glance towards Kate – the co-worker was pretending to pick up her magazine again, her ears straining to listen to their conversation – "what are you doing _here_?"

"Cannot I award my girlfriend with a surprise visit? I thought it would be a nice evening for a stroll in the park."

"What? I can't leave early, you idiot."

He had the nerve to pull the expression of a kicked puppy.

Anna screamed in her head, biting her lip in frustration. He was not her boyfriend: the act itself would arouse suspicion rather than help them blend in, but before she could voice her protests Kate was by her side, throwing an arm over her shoulder.

"I think you should go," she said with a smile. "I agree: it is very romantic weather out there."

Her friend turned to her with a glare, her voice low. "I should have figured an airhead like yourself would not differentiate between the hours of work and leisure."

Kate scoffed, waving off the insult. "Go and live a little; you look like you need it. Besides, I'll cover for you."

She pushed Anna towards him, the brunette being too disorientated from the act to move out of Beyond's way and she slammed into him, pushing them both back a few steps while Kate stifled her giggles behind her hand.

His arm curled around Anna's waist and her breath hitched, him clutching her to his chest in an iron grip.

It was not as romantic as it looked.

If anything the hold reminded her of the very first time he had his arms around her in the grocery store, resurfacing the feeling of fear that accompanied the event. Although this time the folded blade was in his back pocket rather than being pointed at her hip.

Still, it didn't make her feel any safer. She was a bleeding child thrown into a two meter cage with a ravenous tiger.

What she didn't expect was the strange warmth emitting through his clothes as if he was running a fever.

Anna woke that Monday morning alone – Beyond was gone as were two jars of jam from the fridge and Anna's pair of leather gloves he gave her. She didn't toss from side to side when she slept, shown by the blanket that was still comfortably wrapped around her body, so she was surprised when she put her hand on an untouched spot closer to the wall and felt warmth radiating from it.

For a second, she wondered whether Beyond slept next to her – after all, his flesh and blood was as human as hers and perhaps like any other person he craved the comforting closeness of another – but she shook the thought away as soon as it entered her head, regarding such a sentiment on his part as alien and quiet ridiculous when she pondered on it logically.

He was a serial killer with a dangerously manipulative personality. He was a shadow that swallows the person who casts it. He didn't care for her in the least – she was merely a pawn to be used in his plan.

And as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and made her way towards the shower – momentarily pumping her fist in victory when passing the mirror she noticed her cheeks were a little plumper than usual – she sombrely questioned whether he will even let her live once the whole serial murder ordeal was done and over with, their shoes polished.

Beyond's painfully cheerful voice brought her back from her thoughts. "Please, Anna, I have waited so long for this. It's been so long since we did anything together."

Anna scoffed. Sure, because chatting over a thirteen year old's mutilated body doesn't really fit the definition of 'bonding', now does it?

She turned her head to escape the mockingly pleading look on his face, frowning when she noticed the puppy dog eyes of her blonde friend. She groaned. "Not you too."

Kate rolled her eyes, grabbing Anna's bag from behind the counter and throwing it – the object hitting her straight in the face. Anna caught it before it had the chance to fall to the floor and stuck her tongue out at her co-worker, her brown eyes narrowing at the look of innocence on her face.

"Go on kids," the blonde said, ushering them away and wiping a tear from her eyes in the manner of a mother sending her first born child into the world for the first time. "Bring me back a souvenir!"

Beyond cheered with glee, letting go of Anna – her releasing the breath she had forgotten she was holding – and took both of Kate's hands in his own, shaking them with almost genuine gratitude in his eyes. "Thank you, we most certainly will!" he repeated at least thrice before turning back to Anna, throwing his arms around her shoulder and pressing a long, hard kiss on her cheek.

Anna's eyes twitched, her ears beet red and her fists clenching the bag so tightly her knuckles were white and she could have sworn she heard the fabric rip.

Kate waved before her hands linked behind her back and she rocked on her heels, smiling. "Anytime."

He barked out a laugh – a disturbingly boyish laugh – and dragged Anna out of the shop, shaking with anticipation in wait for the moment when they rounded the corner and he could finally get a good look at her face. He was ready to bet that the expression would be _priceless._

He pulled them towards a car Anna didn't recognise and figured within moments that it must have been stolen with a roll of her eyes. He stopped, opening the hood and replaced the bag in her arms with a black, long sleeved t-shirt that Anna welcomed the sight of, standing in nothing but a pair jeans a red t-shirt. He threw over his shoulder a behest for her to get inside the car and Anna obeyed, pulling the shirt on, but not before she stuck her tongue out at the back of his head once she freed her head through the collar.

Beyond rummaged through the duffel bag, double checking he had everything he needed, and buried Anna's bag at the bottom, giving their surrounding once last sweep before he shut the door, whistling as he danced to the driver's seat.

He climbed into the car after Anna, raising an eyebrow when his eyes noticed she had pulled on the safety belt, the gloves he left on the passenger's seat already on her hands.

He turned fully to face her only to be met by Anna's livid eyes and an unexpectedly strong punch to his upper arm. He recoiled, his hand immediately flying to the injured spot. He rubbed the sore limb, rolling his eyes as he fished the car keys from behind the sun-shade board and started the engine.

"Happy now?"

Anna nodded, a proud smile on her face as she breathed in the cool evening's breeze through the rolled down window. "Yes, actually, much better."

Beyond shook his head, a smile tugging at his own lips and it remained there until they drove a few dozen blocks towards the neighbourhood, parking the vehicle in an almost abandoned-like car park. He silenced the engine, his eyes darting, scanning their surroundings with the precision of a security camera. He motioned for Anna to get out and the pair left the car, moving through the unlit streets like shadows.

Anna tripped over a loose stone and Beyond whirled to shush her, a finger to his lips. As he pulled her down with him to duck under the waist-height wooden fence, sensing a passer-by she growled in frustration, glaring at the side of his face. "You know it would be much more efficient if you had warned me beforehand and not just drag me into the whole ordeal mid-murder again."

"I did warn you. I told you on Saturday that our third murder will be executed tonight in time for our victim's body to be discovered tomorrow."

"Okay. First off: _your _victim. Second: I meant the exact time. You may not know this but the day actually has twenty four hours! And finally: I cannot see anything in the dark – rather defeats the purpose of stealth, don't you agree?" Anna hissed, peeking over the edge to see the unsuspecting citizen turn a corner.

Beyond didn't reply. He merely gave her a short, angry glance and swung his legs over the fence, heading for the short, cobble stone wall the same height as the previous hiding place. The girl rolled her eyes, sweeping her eyes from left to right for any more people and following after him not as graciously, wincing whenever the cracked asphalt scrunched under her feet.

"What are we doing _here_?" Anna demanded in a whisper once she rested against the wall, pulling a rubber band from her wrist to manage her hair into a braid and burry it underneath the shirt.

He rolled his eyes, not even humouring her with a glance that time. "The third victim takes this route home every day from work – the neighbourhood is not exactly what you'd call a nice stroll but it's statistically safer than the bus – or even most of the taxis – at this hour, if one knows the safest streets and alley ways."

He said no more.

A few long moments – what felt like hours to Anna – passed before Beyond jumped from his spot crossed leg on the ground into a crouching position, his hands flat against the bricks as his head moved while his eyes stayed strained on one spot in the distance, and he moved with the skill and elegance of a spider.

He jumped over the fence, the landing of his feet no louder than the wind, following the unsuspecting woman in a tight fitting peach coloured blouse and knee-length pencil skirt, her high heels echoing throughout the empty streets. Anna muttered a curse under her breath before looking around her, ensuring that the street was indeed completely empty in every direction before following after him, looking over her shoulder back at the car at every step.

The third victim didn't even have enough time to exhibit as much of a reaction as a blink. Beyond's hand warped from around her and gripped around her waist, the other already holding a syringe between two leather bound fingers, burying the needle in her neck. The woman's eyes closed and her hands didn't even have the chance to clutch at the hold on her before they fell limp.

Backyard Bottomslash's breath left her lungs and she collapsed upon her to-be killer, her briefcase dropping to the ground. Beyond hauled her over his shoulder and picked up the briefcase by two fingers, turning back to the direction he emerged from.

"Well", she muttered as she watched him pass her and stroll towards the car with a slight swing to his step, the female's auburn locks blowing in the wind, "at least it ain't another child."

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* * *

**A/N: The lady doth protest too little, methinks.**


	17. Green for Envy

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_(…to bring night to the mortal and immortal worlds.)_

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Anna puffed her cheeks, balancing Backyard Bottomslash's body on her shoulder as she closed the car door shut with her foot. She winced, struggling to turn around and released a loud sigh of relief when Beyond relieved her of the weight, throwing the car keys at her.

The woman was not much weightier than Anna – she was simply a lot taller than her. Anna was pretty sure the victim would have given runway models a run for their money. What was she doing working as a bank clerk?

Backyard Bottomslash , 26 years old of age, lived in a townhouse in the west of L.A, near a Metrorail 'Glass Station'. It was not busy in the least at that time of night but Beyond moved quickly either way, effortlessly carrying the body and the heavy duffel bag over his shoulder.

He stopped, turning when he noticed the brunette staring at him with a raised eyebrow. "Abandon the car a few blocks away." He said slowly, as if explaining the most simple of an action to a child.

Anna rolled her eyes, mock saluting him before turning on her heel and heading for the driver's seat. She settled in, pushing the safety belt in place and focused on the rear view window where she could see Beyond's back retreating until he stopped in front of a pale house, dropping Bottomslash on the front porch and rummaging through her briefcase until he found the key, dragging the woman inside the moment he opened the front door.

The brunette bit her lip, frowning before turning the key in the ignition and rested her hands on the wheel, her foot pressing down on the gas pedal.

She left the car just as Beyond instructed – driving five blocks north before pulling in the car park of a closed diner, the bars on the windows of the surrounding buildings showing it was just the right place to dispose of a stolen vehicle. She gave the vehicle one last look over before walking away with her hands behind her back, having left the window rolled down and the keys on the seat.

A hooded teenager passing on his way to a party was rather pleasantly surprised with the find.

Anna entered Bottomslash's home, sighing with relief when it wasn't as big as it looked to be from the outside. The first thing greeting her eyes was a staircase to the left leading up to the second floor and the dirt marks on the steps suggesting Beyond already dragged the body up the stairs into a bedroom.

She stood at the foot of the staircase, looking up at the darkened second floor, light emitting from one of the rooms. She jumped when a pack of cleaning wipes hit her in the face, peeling it off with a growl, glaring up at Beyond who offered a smug smile.

"You clean up the downstairs," he called from above, not waiting for her response before disappearing from the line of sight.

Anna turned with a roll of her eyes as she muttered an insult under her breath, locking the front door and flexing her gloved hands.

"Right," she huffed, her hands on her hips. An analogue clock on the chest of draws in the hallway told her it was 12:17am. "Let's get to work."

The floor, the walls, every wooden surface, every object no matter how small was wiped clean. The fridge was opened, the inside and the contents rid of fingerprints and reorganised. Anna even remembered to wipe the light bulbs and their sockets, recalling how Beyond yelled at her when she didn't do so in one of the rooms in the previous crime scene, grabbing the wipe from her and kicking her out of the room.

The shelves were cleaned as was every page of the books tightly packed together. Backyard Bottomslash lived with a roommate who was out of town and the August calendar on the fridge marked her return the next early morning. The bank clerk lived humbly, no expensive things in sight. Must have been saving up for something.

Anna picked up a framed photograph from the mantelpiece above the fireplace. The dark metal frame was the only masculine feature of the entire first floor – no sign of a boyfriend, let alone a romantic interest. In the photo stood Backyard Bottomslash, with her arm around a younger man dressed in a military uniform. The facial familiarities between the pair were striking. A bowl of spare change and a purple lighter next to the frame held a blue pin-on ribbon – the kind the general hospitals give to bone marrow donors.

Ah. She could see now.

Anna frowned and put the photograph down, picking up another frame, this time a bright pink one, smiling sadly at the two photographs held behind the glass. The first was of the young man alone, the patch above his right breast pocket reading "Bottomslash". The second was of Backyard with her arm around her brother again, a younger child just tall enough to pop his head into the photo lurked in the foreground – another brother. The military man was not adorning his uniform this time. Instead he wore a hospital gown in a blindingly white room, not a single hair on his head but despite the shockingly visible weight loss and the bags under his eyes he was smiling – proudly.

She put down the photograph, sighing, and returned to cleaning.

When she was finished she dropped on the ground, catching her breath. She was exhausted and her eyelids slowly lowered. She jumped, shaking the sleep away before it could overtake her. She sneaked quietly up the stairs, wincing every time a wooden board creaked under her weight.

She held her breath, furrowing her eyebrows when she heard light thuds against the floor, peaking through the crack between the door and the frame of Backyard Bottomslash's bedroom, Beyond coming into view.

"I do apologise," he began, sensing her presence at the door. He swung the baseball bat onto Bottomslash, the wood connecting with the left hand with a bone shattering thud, and then he leaned down to make sure he had not broken the skin. He had shed the wool jumper, his upper body clad in a black t-shirt. "I didn't have the patience to wait for you to finish and I got bored so I started without you."

Anna placed her hand flat on the door, pushing it open. She stared at Beyond as he continuously hit the victim's arm again and again without break.

"What the hell are you doing?"

He didn't miss a beat. "I am conducting an experiment."

The brunette nodded, her eyes scanning the shining bedroom, raising an eyebrow at the excessive amounts of stuffed toys in a neat pile by the centre of every wall. "Okay."

"I am beating the victim's arm thoroughly, careful not to break the skin. I am hoping that it is possible to bring enough haemorrhaging to cause death from loss of blood due to internal bleeding."

Anna raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, leaning on the door way. "Huh, right." She looked down at her feet, kicking the heel of her shoe lightly against the wood of the door frame. "I see. And you're attempting to do so by beating her_ arm_?"

Beyond lowered the bat, straightening up to full height. He scratched his head, giving Anna and annoyed look before frowning down at Backyard Bottomslash.

Now that Anna pointed out the flaw he huffed, kicking the bound woman on the floor as if it was somehow her fault. The blood congested in the arm and the limb turned a rainbow of purple and red shades, no areas of the natural skin shade below the forearm not even the finger tips.

To Beyond's disappointment the trauma to the tissue was not enough for the victim to die. Bottomslash shook and convulsed, as if lying in a puddle of water with an electric current running through, but remained alive – not to mention unconscious.

Anna hummed, rather impressed. She could clearly see that the woman's body had a raw thirst for survival and a quite admiring level of endurance. She was surprised the woman hadn't woke – and even more surprised she didn't die merely from the amount of tranquiliser Beyond injected her with.

Beyond dropped the bat to the side, shrugging to show he didn't really care but Anna could see the slight disappointment on his lips – not because the experiment was a failure but simply due to his fun being interrupted. He reached to the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out his knife, letting it glint maliciously when it reflected the light.

He pounced on the body, and Anna averted her eyes, noticing the Wara Ningyo dolls already nailed to the wall. This time only two of them: One on the wall directly opposite the door knob and the other on the wall to the left. Beyond placed his knee at the base of the victim's neck, holding the knife with both hands above her heart.

But he did not stab her through the chest. Instead he attacked her arm, cutting clumsily through the flesh, Anna yelping and jumping away a step when some blood sprayed in her face. With the amount of blood immediately pooling around the body, the arm might as well have been a water balloon. Anna glared at Beyond, wiping at her face with her shirt before stepping into the room to avoid being hit again, stepping carefully around the body.

She frowned at the bold, jagged marks left on the bone once Beyond removed the arm. Bottomslash shook, choking on her own blood as the open wound bled a river, the arm chopped at the root. Her killer ignored the victim, if anything he half-heartedly stabbed her in the stomach before moving onto the leg, sliding the woman's skirt up so he could remove the longer limb at the root – the same as the arm.

He was sure a horrifying sight and yet Anna couldn't overlook the fact that he was murdering the victim while she was unconscious. Of course that didn't necessarily mean that inside her mind she was oblivious to what was going on. The supernatural presence in the medical student's life planted a seed in the back of her brain and it grew, infecting the tissue it touched. She wondered whether Bottomslash felt pain – whether Believe Bridesmaid and Quarter Queen felt pain. Were they simply trapped in their unmoving bodies, screaming out in pain? Did Bottomslash scream inside – because when you're in an amount of pain too much to bear screaming is a luxury you take an advantage of – when Beyond cut of her arm, when he chopped through her leg?

Or was she unable to even do that, trapped in her nightmare?

She shook her head, cursing Beyond and the shinigami for taking her beliefs of logical reasoning and throwing them upside down.

Soon the victim stopped shaking, one more cough escaped her throat and she exhaled her last breath, her chest caving in before Beyond even finished removing the leg.

Blood pooled underneath the body and the only sounds in the room were of Anna occasionally stepping back to avoid the widening circle of the crimson liquid and Beyond's harsh chops. When he finally sliced off the leg, now the both of Bottomslash's right side limbs detached, he strolled out of the room and across the hall to the bathroom, dumping the leg in the bath and treading blood everywhere with every step.

He returned to the victim, moving her remaining arm and leg to represent a clock: the head was the hour, pointing towards the wall with the Wara Ningyo doll nailed on it, five soft toys below. The arm and the leg were the hour and minute arrows respectively.

Even in such a grisly scene Backyard looked peaceful, almost majestic in a large puddle of her own blood. She could have arguably been from a Kees van Dongen painting – all she lacked was a large hat.

_The lake was peaceful as Anna jumped in, the water immediately rising to her waist. She shivered, emerging herself to the neck simply to become accustomed to the cold quicker. Laugh reached her ears. Laughter of a pink haired friend._

_But the laughed soon turned to a scream, and even that was silenced by the roar of a car engine. Water splashed everywhere. The engine spluttered, groaning before it died. A hand pressed against the glass, hitting to no avail. All life left the hand and it slid down slowly before disappearing deeper into the murky waters._

_The lake around the teenager turned red, the colour spread as fast as an infection and her eyes were wide as she screamed, scrambling to move through it to the edge of land. But the water was thick, dragging her down, as if the plague of Egypt materialised in front and around her, turning the waters into blood._

Anna winced, the headache returning full blow, as if a knife was being slowly dragged across her skull. Her vision swam and she stumbled back, leaning against the wall and sliding to the ground, her head falling between her knees where she clutched it harshly to make the spinning stop, counting every second the pain refused to leave. It faded in a few long moments and she slowly raised her head cautiously, careful not to make any sudden movements.

When she looked up she found Beyond staring down at her, pointing at her with Bottomslash's arm. She screamed and jumped, only to hit the back of her head against the wall in her freight, resulting in another splitting headache. Beyond opened his mouth to ask what she was doing but Anna held up a hand to stop him and he rolled his eyes, spying the baseball and resting it and the arm against his shoulders, cocking his head to the side.

Anna blinked harshly, her vision clearing and looked past him to Backyard Bottomslash. Well – the name no longer suited her. The enchantment of a fauvist painting gone. She was merely a body now – a sack of flesh saturating in its own juices. It was warm now but by the time the police officers and the homicide detectives and the forensics team will be swarming this place like flies all the warmth will leave and the blood flow will come to a stop and the lips will turn blue.

An ice cube in a glass of red wine.

When kids are young, they pour themselves grape juice in a champagne glass and pretend they're drinking wine. Teenage girls smuggle a bottle of the alcohol into their rooms and when their lips are stained with the wine they pretend they are swallowing blood like a vampire.

So much blood: on the floor, on the walls, on the bed and on the soft toys, even most of the second floor – the entire crime scene was covered in blood. It was like a maniac was let loose in the room wielding a machete. Beyond felt the need to cover the entire scene in it – as if he was obligated to step up after the post-mortem mutilation of the first and second victims.

Beyond – having packed the bat and other instruments into the bag helped Anna stand from the ground with a grip around her forearm. He locked the room, hooking the string to the Wara Ningyo dolls, smirking when he felt the satisfying click of the lock.

Those idiotic detectives will most likely never solve the mystery of the rooms appearing to be locked from the inside – a pattern of a suicide thrown into the scene of the most gory of serial murders most of them will witness in their whole lives.

The pair left the house silently, Anna still in somewhat of a haze after the unexpectedly vivid, unwelcomed memory but her mind cleared once they left the building. She took in a deep breath, shaking her head and pulled off the blood soaked shirt, throwing it at Beyond.

He stuffed it into the duffel bag without as much as looking at it as the two started their journey home, his eyes on the object in his arms.

Anna stared pointedly stared at the limb in Beyond's hold as he occasionally poked the squishy flesh, a twisted smile pulling at his lips.

She sighed, averting her eyes. "Please tell me you won't, like, chop it up and make it into a stew."

Beyond frowned at her from the corner of his eyes. "I am not a cannibal."

Anna pouted, crossing her arms as she let him walk a few steps ahead so she could roll her eyes. "Honestly, it would hardly surprise me."

He threw her a glare over his shoulder but the twinkle in his eyes betrayed his mock consideration for the idea.

She sighed, sticking out her palms to him pleadingly. "Please don't cook the arm and then consume it, Beyond."

"Actually, Anna, seventeen per cent of the _known_ cannibalistic convicts and observed tribes don't cook the flesh-"

Anna shook her head violently, her hands flying to cover her ears. "Please, just stop!"

Beyond shrugged his shoulders, adjusting the strap of the bag over his shoulder. "You're the one who brought up the subject of cannibalism."

The medical student groaned, wishing she could be buried in between the warm blankets on her bed. She was too tired and annoyed to argue with him.

And she didn't. Not another word left her lips even when the sun had risen and they entered the public toilets of a metro station so both could clean themselves up from the busy night.

.

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**A/N: I stumbled on a sketch of Beyond with a severed leg over his shoulder and now I can't get the image of our favourite serial killer whistling down the street, balancing the limb, out of my head. Anyways, hope you enjoyed the last two chapters. Let me know what you thought!  
**


	18. Mother, Forgive Me

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_(Oizys travelled the worlds in a cloud of mystery: no eyes saw her willowing form...)_

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A pair of hands plunged under the cold tap water. They collected the liquid in a handful, before quickly moving up, splashing the water on a sweaty face.

Anna rubbed the water out of her eyes, lowering her hands under the tap again. She lightly tapped the back of her neck, turning off the tap and shaking her fingers to get rid of any excess water. She looked up at the mirror, focusing on the bathroom surroundings instead of her reflection. The mirror was foggy and splattered with unidentifiable stains; a crack in it ran across Anna's neck.

She shook her head, coughing. She frowned, the cough worsening her throat rather than clearing it. In a fit she gripped the edge of the sink, doubling over it. Her stomach felt like she had swallowed acid and her throat burned.

It passed almost as soon it began and Anna sighed, wiping a trail of saliva from her mouth in a disgusted manner. She looked up, this time focused on her face.

She looked tired – but she put that to the terrible light emitting from the bulb above her. She turned the tap on again, looking down at the sink only to see blood. She winced, shaking her head and washing her hands, not stopping until the sink was white again, the running water clear.

Anna sighed in relief, raising her hands and staring at her palms, searching for as much as a drop of blood. She turned them over, scanning the back of her hands.

Nothing.

It was just her imagination due to a sleepless night, she decided, nodding.

She sighed, collecting herself and wiping her hands on her jeans. Turning she took in a deep breath and looked up, ready to leave the filthy place but she froze, wide eyes trained on the figure in front of her.

Justin Quinn cocked his head to the side.

But he was not himself.

The healthy tan was gone, replaced by a ghostly pale shade of skin. His hair stuck to his face and he was dripping wet, creating a puddle on the bathroom tiles. But despite the whole of him seemingly drenched in water, the corner of his left eye was burning – just a tiny flame bit it was as clear as a star in a night's sky.

Two hand-prints shone a dark purple around his throat – small strangulation marks, like those of a girl.

"Hello, Anna."

Anna screamed when he spoke, scrambling backwards, shaking her head in fright. "No," she whispered, her voice hitching in her throat. "It can't be."

Justin straightened his head, looking down at the quivering from in front of him. He took a step towards her and Anna stepped back, her back hitting the sink.

"Why did you hurt me, Anna?" he asked, water escaping the corner of his mouth as he tilted his head to the other side. His lips remained parted, like a dead fish lying on a cutting board. His eyes were wide, staring at her unblinkingly. "Why would you do something like that to a friend? _Why_, Anna?"

Anna shook her head violently, her breathing irregular as her heartbeat sped up and her head swam, a sharp pain piercing her temples. She swallowed the lump in her throat. "No," she protested. "Don't ask me why, you know why! You were going to hurt her!"

The man's voice flared – just as the entire left side of his face suddenly enveloped in flames. "Don't lie to me, Anna! _I hate it when you lie_!"

The brunette slid down to the ground and pulled at her hair while burying her face in her knees. "No," she repeated to herself over and over again as her hands made their way to cover her ears. "Go away, go away, _go away!"_

Justin's eyes narrowed and he pounced on Anna, shaking her by the shoulders. Slowly, the fire spread further until it covered his entire head and infected his right collarbone, but the rest of him remained dripping. Anna's eyes remained shut, her teeth gritting, flexing her jaw. "Remember – Remember what you did to me!"

.

* * *

.

_Anna yawned and blinked awake, for a moment disoriented when she saw the darkened top of the tent. She shivered when the cold air wisped her shoulders, rubbing her arms together. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and noticed the reason she was cold despite having the thickest blanket of the trio._

_The closing to the tent was unzipped letting in the cool air of the night._

_Well, almost night. Anna could still clearly see that the sky was not completely dark – shreds of a lighter blue still lined the horizon. It must have been late evening._

_The last she remembered was sauntering over to the tent announcing she will be taking a nap._

"_No, Justin. This is not funny – stop it! Goddamn it, learn the meaning of the word!"_

_Anna eyes snapped to the opening of the tent, her ears straining to the direction of the voice before she looked around, noticing that neither of her friends was with her. She could have sworn Tracy stayed in the tent with her, the pink haired teenager talking to her nervously about Justin, convinced their friend was radiating off a bad vibe._

_The brunette had laughed at her friend, telling her she was over-reacting. Tracy nodded with a frown though her friend's words did not comfort her._

_A growl rumbled in Anna's chest._

_Dammit._

_She should have known._

_Justin Quinn was a model of perfection: he earned good grades in school without trying, was the best at every sport, managed to charm almost every girl he talked to and most importantly – he remained a loyal and kind friend throughout the whole ordeal to Tracy and Anna whom he had known since the trio were five years old._

_But there was always a sense of something... _off _about him._

_The way he would get angry at the strangest of things or storm off in a fit and not be seen _

_That perfect American teenager act was just that – an act._

_His father abused him as a child so to escape such a life he retreated into his own mind where he created a world of his own. A world where he reinvented himself and when his father finally left and never returned, he became his creation. A model student with a sadistically narcissistic brain._

_Anna was the only one who knew – as she was sworn with secrecy. But she would be lying if she claimed that fear of her friend was not a factor to the silence._

"_Get away from me."_

_Anna scrambled to her feet when Tracy's yells became heavier, as if she out of breath. She threw the blanket from her and ran outside towards the lake, ignoring when the cold wind nipped at her arms._

_Both Tracy and Justin were on the ground by the water, both of their shirts missing. Justin was working on removing her bikini top while Tracy squirmed beneath him, yelling out insults at the top of her lungs while she was being overpowered by the guy._

"_Anna!" Tracy gasped her friends name when her eyes spied her and with new found strength she kicked the guy on top of her and he rolled away, laughing as he got to his feet, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand._

_The girl in question shook off her confusion, her mind immediately grasping at exactly what was going on. She ran towards her female friend, immediately helping her to her feet and clutching her to her side, Tracy releasing a few strangled sobs._

_Both girls turned towards Justin, his laughter slowly dying out but a wide smile remained on his face and he licked his lips. He scratched the back of his neck. "Why did you have to interrupt us, Anna? We were just getting to the best part."_

"_What the hell is wrong with you, Justin?" Tracy exclaimed, stepping back so she was slightly behind her friend. She wiped a few tears that escaped her eyes before they narrowed in a glare. "I don't understand why you are acting this way."_

_Justin ignored her, his eyes trained on Anna. "Or perhaps you were too eager to join us?"_

_Anna's eyes flashed and with a few steps towards Justin she swung her arm and her fist connected with his jaw. _

"_You bitch!"_

_Justin retaliated with a kick and as Anna fell she dragged him down with her. The two rolled on the cold soil, exchanging kicks and punches while Tracy dodged out of the way, bravely standing her ground despite the overbearing urge to flee. More tears fell and she didn't bother wiping them away, instead crossing her arms and biting her lip. _

_Her friend held herself quite well against the older boy but that was to be expected. She had grown a lot in the past year – not in height but in strength and the few boys who previously held interest in a romantic pursue would run away whenever she came near._

_Tracy frowned, her eyes wide when the two rolled over the edge and into the lake, both gasping when they hit the water. Anna was strong yes, but Justin was stronger. The pair looked around for a moment, disorientated, and soon once their eyes found each other's they were at it again, Anna's fingers scratching at Justin's face and his knuckle grazing her shoulders and his arm reaching to curl around her hair._

_Anna's hands found his neck and she did the only thing that came to her mind: she squeezed. And she squeezed hard and just in the right place for she knew the weak parts of the human anatomy even in the heat of the moment. Justin's arms flailed as he gave a few pitiful attempts to get her fingers away from around his throat before they fell to his side, twitching into fists._

_He kicked – the hit Anna took well despite his strength. He soon began gasping, the words losing their form and sound as they left his lips._

_The brunette blinked heavily, as if realising what she was doing. Her hands loosened and Justin pushed her away but while she merely stumbled a few steps back he fell into the water, the wave obscuring both of their vision._

_A car horn blared and Tracy was the only one to react. While her two friends breathed heavily, glaring at each other and exchanging series of insults, her eyes focused on the glaring lights of the speeding truck towards them, the siren blaring and flames emitting front the front hood of the car._

_As the lack vehicle came closer, clipping Justin's car and smashing off the side mirror the two fighting teenagers whipped their heads to the direction, their words dying in their throats._

_They should have ran. And the thought rang through their heads in form of a scream to do so._

_But they didn't. _

_Instead they stood frozen; forgetting even to breath as the lights blinded them and the sound of the engine became louder until it was nothing but a deafening thunder._

_The vehicle hit Tracy first and she flew in the air, crashing into Justin as the two of them were thrown below the surface of the lake. Anna gasped, yelling out her friend's names. With a final crack of the engine's flame the truck fell on top of them, water flying everywhere._

_The force of the collision sent Anna a few meters deeper into the lake, submerging her under water. The disorientation didn't last long and Anna soon broke the surface and with a lump in her throat, fear in her heart and a bad feeling in her stomach she swam towards the scene. _

_Tracy's body was floating above the surface and Anna yelled her name out, the dread hitting her full force when the pink haired girl didn't stir. Anna swam until she could wrap her arms underneath her and she clutched her friend to her chest, her fingers searching for her throat._

_No pulse._

_Anna reeled back, the body dropping back into the water and her hand clasped her mouth. She could feel the taste of sick at the back of her throat but she shook her head, instead forcing herself to be logical against all instincts to panic. The ringing in her head was louder, but even that was drowned by the thudding of her own heart in her ears. She took in a deep breath and dove underwater, screaming when she came face to face with Justin._

_His eyes were still open, all anger gone. If anything he looked serene, apart from the gaping red gash on his forehead. Anna brought him to the surface with her, wiping the blood from his face before also checking his neck._

_No pulse._

_Anna bit back her tears and let Justin slid from her arms, the body sinking before rising to the surface again, floating towards the tall grass of the river bank and gently the leg bumped against Tracy's arm._

_Her eyes burned when tears escaped them. She shook her head, moving the hair that was plastered on her face, not realising she smudged her friend's blood on her temples. She took in another deep breath, before diving under the water for the last time, her eyes searching for the truck._

_She immediately found it, but not before she noticed the pale hand hitting against the window. Anna swam towards it, and soon a horrified face of a woman came into view beside the hand. Anna grasped at the handle, pulling to no avail. _

_The door did not budge._

_But she told herself not to give up. The woman inside the car was panicking. She turned to the man beside her but he was not responding and blood was gushing from his mouth. She whirled back to the teenager on the outside of the car, pure desperation in her eyes as with her last strength she called "Help me!"_

_Anna only watched hopelessly as life left the woman, her hand sliding down the window and her eyes closed as she exhaled her last breath._

_The brunette sobbed, pulling at her hair, only swimming to the surface when her throat burned. She gasped, wrapping her hands around her stomach as all feelings but anger and disappointment left her. She shook her head, her mind screaming that all of this couldn't be true. That it was too strange, too fucked up to be happening._

_She closed her eyes, her head piercing. She felt heaviness to her chest and instead of fighting the feeling she welcomed it. She let her body float, not even wincing when the water splashing her parted lips tasted of iron, for blood was staining the murky water a faded red. She let her mind grow dark, and her fingers grow cold._

_It was all a dream._

_She would wake up and Tracy would be okay. Justin would be okay and he would be cracking jokes at the fireplace and he would not be attempting to rape their friend. The married couple in the car would be okay._

_None of this would have happened._

_None of this is real._

_The last clear sound was that of an emergency siren and mumbled, rushed voices. Her eyes fluttered open, only to shut them again at the blinding light. A feather tickled her nose and a morbid laughter rang in her ears._

"_Over here," a woman's voice called, distorted. "This one's still alive!"_

.

* * *

.

Beyond tapped his foot impatiently. The damned girl had entered the station's bathroom twenty seven minutes ago and people were beginning to bustle around the station, rushing to their jobs.

The Glass Station was small, there were no cameras except for a few that were overly easy to avoid. But he could bring his hat down to prevent people from seeing his face only so low before the fabric obscured his vision entirely. He made sure that all of the people left on a metro train and the only remaining one left for a cup from the coffee machine and then he left the black bag in an unattended corner before stomping into the ladies' bathroom.

A woman was standing inside just past the door, staring at Anna's shaking and mumbling form on the floor with a raised eyebrow.

Beyond barked at her an order to leave. The woman jumped and as she spun around she looked ready to protest but upon seeing the murderous look in his eyes she mumbled an apology and fled the room before he could blink, muttering under her breath about crazy people. He didn't even turn his head as she left, already taking long and hurried steps towards Anna.

He slowly crouched in front of her, calling her name. She barely reacted – only pulling at her hair. He could see that she was shaken with cold sweat, as if experiencing a violent nightmare. If he wasn't sure, he would almost guess she was experiencing a seizure, but his surprise for such an event outweighed his concern. Her cheeks were stained with tears and her sobs were raspy.

"No," she mumbled into her leg, biting the jeans between her teeth. "I tried to save you."

Beyond frowned, his hand clasping her shoulders and he shook her. "Hey, snap out of it."

She screamed scrambling away from him and hit her head on the edge of the sink though she didn't seem to acknowledge it. "Get away from me!"

"Anna it's me, Beyond," he reasoned, shaking her again, this time harder.

"No," she violently shook her head, her hands leaving her head and scrambling for support, finding it one Beyond's shirt which she clutched in fists. "I didn't hurt you. I tried to save you. You and Tracy both. _I tried to save you_!"

Beyond froze. Who was she talking to? Did she finally crack?

As his mind scrambled to understand, Anna's long hair grew shorter and lighter until it barely tickled the bottom of her ears and her skin grew paler. Her clothing changed to a long white shirt and a pair of jeans she swam in.

And within moments Anna was gone, her form replaced by an auburn haired and blue eyed teenage boy. His lips trembled, soundlessly forming Beyond's name before he choked out an apology and bowed his head, his ears red with shame and his hands shaking.

"A?"

The young man shook his head, his lips curling around his bared teeth. "It's not fair. It's not fair. Why is this happening to _me_?"

Beyond wrapped his arms around the figure, letting the person bury their head into the chest as more tears pooled from their eyes and their cries choked in the back of their throat. The voice was that of a child. "I was just trying to help. I was always trying to help. It's not fair."

When he looked down again A was gone and in his place was Anna's dark head. He wrapped his arms tighter around her, placing his chin on top of her head. "It's alright," he whispered, cradling her like a child as she sobbed into his chest. "Everything's alright. You're safe now. I will not let anybody hurt you."

.

* * *

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**A/N: So there, the "tragic event" of Anna's past fully revealed. If you're sitting here, thinking "WTF?!" then that was the whole point. But I hope this chapter was not disappointing – though I hated writing it. It's all sad and depressing.**


	19. False Reassurance

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_(…no ears heard her footsteps, no mortal children of men spoke of her.)_

_._

Anna swallowed awkwardly, her eyes darting to all around her refusing to focus on the black haired man to her side or on the sniffing middle aged couple in front of them.

Mrs Bottomslash blew her nose in a napkin so loudly it attracted the attention of the entire diner.

Anna gave Beyond a long, sideways glance, daring for him to speak up, but the man didn't as much as blink, a look of pure pity on his face, focused on Backyard Bottomslash's parents. She rolled her eyes before crossing her arms, deciding this meeting had to be the most awkward moment of her life, wincing when Beyond released a heavy breath.

"I really am sorry," he spoke to the married pair in front of him, nothing but genuine kindness in his voice, "for what happened to your daughter. It is truly devastating. I can assure I have unquestionably reliable sources and I can direct you to several references that will confirm how efficient I am in my work. My success rate is a hundred percent."

Mrs Bottomslash turned to her husband who was looking down at his tea and jabbed him in the side with her elbow. "See, I knew we were right to hire him when I saw his advertisement in the paper. 'One hundred percent success rate' he said!"

The man looked up at Beyond with tears in his eyes, some residue from his drink in his greying moustache. "We've talked to the police, to the detectives but they just tell us to wait! We have waited over twenty four hours already! Why should we trust a P.I. of all people?"

Beyond leaned towards them with pure sincerity. "I, Rue Ryuzaki, promise you both that I will personally lead the killer to the court room in handcuffs."

Anna tapped her foot impatiently. This whole exchange was ridiculous.

She knew people reacted to deaths of their loved ones in different ways but the way the parents of the third victim behaved was worthy of an Oscar. Such real tears from the mother and such real anger in the father's eyes.

They were desperate for a reason: a reason why their child was killed, an answer that will most likely never be revealed. Anna was sure that even if Beyond was ever caught – an event that was previously hoped for but was now nothing but a fleeting thought, something extremely unlikely to happen – the true reason for his crimes would never be revealed to the public or to the victim's families.

L would not allow it for in the public eye it would not allow the prosecution to accuse him of being a cold hearted killer and the verdict would no doubt be clinical insanity, and in such a trial, exactly how L would appear to the world?

Mr Bottomslash's wife looked at her husband pleadingly. "He can help us, sweetie, to bring justice to our daughter. My God, I miss our little Backyard so much. That monster defiled her." She sobbed, searching for her recently pocketed napkin to blow her nose again.

Her husband surveyed their surroundings for a moment before nodding, patting his wife's shoulder soothingly and turned to Beyond.

"Right then, we will hire you and your…" his voice trailed off as his eyes flickered to Anna. Before the girl could open her mouth, the acting Private Investigator answered for her.

"Secretary."

The third victim's father nodded, albeit a little confused for in her attire of a band t-shirt and a pair of shorts, Anna did not resemble a secretary of any sort. On the other hand, she was easily overshadowed by one Rue Ryuzaki who was sitting in his signature pose, drinking a mug of coffee with sugar-to-water ration of 3:1 at the least.

"Right," the man nodded, grunting. "I will hire you and your secretary, especially since your terms are so reasonable. Just like we talked over the phone this morning: we will cover any expenses you need and once the case is solved we will pay you the appropriate fee."

Beyond grinned. "I appreciate it, Mr and Mrs Bottomslash. I will not fail you."

After a short goodbye, the pair was walking away, the woman clasping Anna's hands with rivers of tears streaming down her cheeks, thanking her a thousand times before her husband awkwardly dragged her away.

Anna waited for the couple to leave before she turned to Beyond with disbelief in her eyes. "What the hell just happened?"

"You must have hit your head on the sink," Beyond retorted, stretching and tapping his fingers on the table. "I have been hired by the parents of Backyard Bottomslash to investigate their daughter's murder. Just as I was hired by Believe Bridesmaid and Quarter Queen's next of kin."

The medical student leaned towards him with a hiss. "Well that raises a problem doesn't it, considering _you_ are the killer?" When he didn't answer she shook her head, scoffing. "And I take it; it wasn't an accident that they came upon your name in the paper?"

Beyond turned to her with a glare. "Of course not – as if I would ever be as submissive as to leave any small detail to chance. I thought you would have realised that. I swear, Anna, you have accumulated some sort of brain damage in that bathroom."

Anna shook her head, straightening up in her seat, annoyed he brought up the event she has been ignoring for over a day and has almost forgotten about. "You do want to get caught, don't you?"

"Of course I don't – I will _not _be caught." He shook his head as he reached into Anna's coat pocket - much to her protests – and took out the money to pay for the bill. He lapped up the last of his coffee before placing the money on the table underneath the empty mug and dragging Anna out of the diner.

His detainee could have laughed. "You're being irrationally confidant in your success."

He ignored her, leading her by the arm until they were outside and only then he let go, proceeding towards the direction of the apartment.

Anna hurried after him, her voice rising. "I can't go home!"

Beyond whirled to her, eyes wide and a horrified expression on his face. "Why the hell not?"

If he did such a thing a few weeks prior, perhaps Anna would have been surprised at the honestly annoyed and betrayed look on his face. But now having gotten used to his overused dramatics, she merely rolled her eyes. "I have work right about now."

His lips actually trembled, as he grabbed her arms in his and clutched them to his chest. "Please don't leave!"

Anna pulled her hands from his grip, clenching them into fists. "Let go." The hand in his grip felt hot, like trapped in between two lumps of coal.

Beyond raised an eyebrow but did as she said, smiling when she crossed them over her chest too hurriedly for him to miss her discomfort. "Fine, but I shall escort you to the place of you employment."

The brunette waved over her shoulder, rolling her eyes at his choice of words, as she moved to walk to the direction of the coffee shop. "As if I would be able to stop you either way."

The two walked in sync for a long silent moment. Anna chanced a look at his face, frowning when she saw him perfectly relaxed and content.

How in the hell was he able to keep this up? Was he not worried about getting caught? There could have been as much a strand of evidence left behind and they would be knocking down her door with the barrels of FBI squad issue guns pointing at her nose.

And Beyond deliberately left clues to the next scene.

Of course she had to admit that the clue at the third murder scene was the least obvious. Only a skilled detective would have paid attention to the alignment of the soft toys – the thing they would have focused on would have been the blood and the victim and Backyard's missing limbs. The detectives will have trouble working out that the body is actually a clock pointing towards six hours, fifteen minutes and fifty seconds and even if they did, it was too vague of a clue to make any use of.

Beyond was smart, but Anna knew that even the smartest serial killers are usually eventually caught. And Beyond was taunting the best of them all.

"I cannot read minds," he said, his eyes flickering to meet hers before they focused on the road in front of them again. "Tell me what is bothering you."

"What," Anna shot back sarcastically, "the great detective Rue Ryuzaki can't figure it out?"

He sighed, pulling the baseball hat out from his pocket and pulling it on. "You are finding it hard to understand why I would be eager to get hired by the parents of my victims. To you it seems a foolish task as it increases my chances of getting caught for if I do, they have seen my face clearly enough to testify in court."

"Well?" she asked, expectantly.

"It's L's turn."

Anna frowned. "Who- Oh…" Realisation dawned on her and for a moment she felt foolish before anger replaced the embarrassment. "What the hell do you mean it's his turn?"

Beyond stopped walking and Anna almost rammed into him. He put a thumb to his lips, looking up at the clouds as he spoke. "I have no doubt that he will soon be sending a detective to investigate the crime scenes. The fact that two of the victim's names are the same initials as mine – as is the second's for I doubt it will take him long to work that out - undoubtedly points towards me. I can only hope he hadn't worked it out before the third murder. I have made my move, now it is turn for his and since he will have to cover his interest in the case to protect his image he will send someone in his place as a pawn on the chess board."

The girl looked at the side of his face visible through his mop of hair, confused. "Why can't he just investigate it himself?"

He shook his head, throwing her a short glare at the stupidity of her statement. "He never publicly shows his face, no matter how big or important the case. He is most likely to hire a detective to collect information on his behalf – therefore I shall be waiting for the investigator he will send at the scene."

Oh right, she forgot. Anna mentally kicked herself for momentarily forgetting just who exactly L was.

Beyond continued, oblivious to her thoughts. "Yes, I shall surprise the detective at the scene. I have little doubt they will not be smart enough to figure out who I am – especially as I have been hired by the victim's parents. I have solid claims." He resumed walked, the rest of his words muttered under his breath.

Anna choked on empty air once she realised what he said as he resumed walking. "You will go back to the crime scene?" she hissed, catching up and grabbing onto his forearm with both of her hands so it would have been easier to keep up with him. "Are you _that_ insane?"

Her crutch gave her grip a small sweep, a smile tugging at his lips before his mind caught up with the question. "Of course I will be. Why is that surprising?"

"Well," said Anna, her eyes on his as they turned the corner of the street on which the coffee shop was situated. "I suppose it's simply a very cliché thing of a criminal to do..."

Her voice trailed off when her eyes focused on her workplace.

How did she miss the sirens?

The whole block was enveloped in thick, black smoke.

Police cars and fire brigade trucks blocked off the street, behind a yellow '_do no cross'_ police tape. People were shouting one over another, some still screaming at what has taken place. A few sported shock blankets around their shoulders as plain clothed officers questioned them.

Beyond, not missing a beat, immediately pulled on her arm and backed the both of them into an alley way just as a uniformed officer was approaching where they stood mere moments ago. Anna blinked, her vision overtook by darkness as Beyond pushed her behind a trash can and her back painfully hit the brick wall.

She immediately got to her feet, her eyes flaring with anger despite the ringing in her ears. "What the hell was that for?!"

A blonde walking past heard Anna's exclaim and gasped, immediately rushing towards the pair. Beyond whipped around on alert but relaxed once he saw the familiar face.

Kate roughly brushed Beyond's shoulder as she pounced on Anna, attacking the surprised girl in one of the tightest hugs. Anna was beginning to turn purple by the time her friend pulled away, worry and tears in her eyes.

"Oh my god, I am so glad that you're alright!" she said, brushing dust from Anna's shoulders. "The building exploded just as I stepped into the street, I thought you were inside, I almost had a panic attack-"

"Kate, calm down," Anna interrupted her rambling friend, her eyes noticing how the streets became more and more crowded despite the annoyed police officers telling everyone to back away from the scene. "What happened?"

The blonde took in a deep breath despite her panic and the words spilled out past her swollen lips like a bucket of water. "None of us know yet exactly, though every person who was in the surrounding buildings at the time of the attack has sustained injuries. The officers refuse to talk but somebody said that the bombing attack was directed at the pet shop – apparently it's that environmental terrorist group that bombed, and committed acts of arson and vandalism in a few other businesses in LA, campaigning for the mistreatment of animals, I think." Kate frowned; unaware that Beyond was seemingly staring at the busy street while listening to her every word. "Though if it is the same organisation it is surprising at how much damage was caused here."

Anna shrugged. "Perhaps they miscalculated the magnitude of their bomb? They construct their own devices. It is a big step form arson and vandalism after all."

Kate shook her head so violently, her braid left a red mark on her cheek. "No, I know some people already blame them but I honestly can't believe it. They used bombs previously and they didn't even cause char to a wooden desk why would it escalate so drastically to the point where a dozen buildings are damaged-"

Kate suddenly stopped, her ears straining. She turned to her friend with a grin, grabbing her arm and pulling her back into the street. "They are answering questions! Let's go!"

Anna didn't resist against the pull – not that it would have helped. Beyond had a hand at her lower back, pushing slightly as the trio re-entered the main street, keeping her in place.

A smile tugged at his lips. He would have been extremely surprised if any of the law enforcement officers even as much as bat an eyelid at their presence. With the amount of civilians in the streets, they nicely blended in with the people simply at the scene to gossip.

And although it felt silly to himself to admit it: Anna's workplace has just been eliminated and although it was a reliable alibi if needed, she no longer had an excuse to be away from him.

Anna glanced at Beyond with a curiously raised eyebrow.

"I never liked bombs. So barbaric," he retorted, as if sensing her questioning gaze. She bit her lip, not putting such an act of terrorism past him despite his word and turned back to the scene.

Overall, the damage to the coffee shop was exceedingly less prominent than the damage done to the pet shop – the bricks were still falling from the crumbling walls, narrowly missing the busy officers below. The nearby buildings were simply burned but she knew the insurance companies will have a heart attack. Kate seemed to be right – for an animal right's group the damage was overwhelming. Such an act would hinder their cause rather than help.

A window shattered and a new flame erupted from the coffee shop. It startled the civilians and the public workers alike, the fire brigade rushing to put out the fire, orders being thrown left and right, giving the chance for a few journalists and news reporters to duck under the yellow tape to get closer coverage.

"Damn," Anna muttered. "There goes our job."

"It's such a disaster," Kate muttered, shaking her head.

"It is terrible," Beyond agreed.

Kate turned to him, as if she had noticed him for the first time. "Oh hey, Tom," she greeted, her face transforming from a look of distress and horror to a playful glint in her eyes and the mischievous smile. "How did your date go? Anna was avoiding all of my questions yesterday."

Anna gritted her teeth, about to open her mouth to protest when she was cut off.

Beyond interrupted her, matching the extent of Kate's smile with one of his own. "Oh, it went wonderfully!"

"Hey!"

He continued as if she hadn't said a thing, wrapping a hand around her waist. "We went to see a movie and had a popcorn fight and-"

"_We did no such thing_!"

Kate grinned, her smile growing as she gushed over the pair in front of her, oblivious to the scene of panic behind her. "How sweet!" she laughed, Anna's protests falling on deaf ears.

The brunette growled at being ignored but she didn't move away from the man beside her. Instead she crossed her arms and stomped her foot, trying to remain seemingly oblivious to the red staining her cheeks.

.

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* * *

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**A/N: Since we never find out what happened to the hand in the book, I thought I'd put two of my cents in. So here's a short scene for you all (that I actually rather like) of what I imagined happened to it. Enjoy:**

Anna walked down the road with her hands grudgingly stuffed in her jean pockets. She refused to as much as look at Beyond after she recovered consciousness and found him holding her in the station's bathroom.

How embarrassing.

She was certain her cheeks and ears were still burning.

She stopped walking when she realised the light footsteps stopped following her. She turned around, only to see Beyond crouched in front of an old grey cat. His bag was open; the bloody hand of the third victim in between his fingers as he held it up above the feline, the cat greedily licking up the bloodied limb before after a dozen tastes it pawed forward and from an encouraging smile from Beyond it took a bite, purring in satisfaction.

Soon, a few more homeless cats ventured from the alleyway, rushing at the smell of the meat, all demanding for it with a single whine. Another joined, this one with a shining black fur and a golden bell dangling from a red collar.

Anna stared. "You're feeding it to the local cats?"

Beyond threw her a grin over his shoulder. "I could have fed it to you."

Anna rolled her eyes, crossing her arms as she turned on her heel and continued walking, putting him behind her, muttering under her breath.

"Alright, Dr Lecter."

She turned so she was walking backward and with a mocking smile she called, "If there's a mass outbreak of human consuming cats, I am turning you in!" Beyond waved, acknowledging that he heard her and Anna shook her head with a small smile pulling at her lips.

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	20. Guardian

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_(But she was there: at the corner of their eyes, on the tip of their noses...)_

.

Kate rested her head on her chin, sighing. "This totally sucks."

Anna agreed with a nod, slurping her milkshake through the straw noisily. "You already said that at least a dozen times."

"But it does!" the blonde exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air and almost knocking over the tall glass filled to the brim with orange juice into her plate of fries. "I had this job for three years! Three! Now I'm going to have to look for a new one if I want to afford my current apartment. Damn it; and I really like my roommate too.

"You could move in with me," her friend offered.

Kate scoffed. "Yeah right, and hear you and 'Bones' over here hump like bunnies all night long? No, thanks!"

Anna didn't even bother to blush, instead rolling her eyes. "No need to be so crude," she said, sticking her tongue out. The blonde waved her off, drowning her fries with ketchup and seeing how many she could get on a single tine of a fork.

"It's just, I know these things happen," Kate stuffed a huge mouthful of food into her mouth and continued once she finished chewing and swallowed, "but it's doesn't stop it from being extremely irritating. You know, sometimes I have living in L.A. - this place is like a global crime central..."

To their left, Beyond chomped down on a burger, his eyes trained on the television in the corner of the diner. When he noticed the familiar face belonging to the Captain of the Los Angeles police department he elbowed Anna in her ribs, the girl hissing before she turned to glare at him.

He simply pointed toward the television, and Anna's eyes followed the direction as Kate perked up and the trio focused on the small screen, barely hearing the report through the chatter of the people around them.

"…_and our only clue was the fact that the suspect left a print on one of the components of the homemade device that was thrown into the targeted building._

"_The suspect _has_ been identified as Troy Patrick, a right hand man of the militant animal rights group A.R.M., and I assure the public and other animal rights' campaigning groups that they can breathe a sigh of relief and that Mr Patrick will face the responsibility for his actions which caused the death of Victor Kornokovich and the injuries of half a dozen more."_

The LAPD Captain's public address was visually interrupted by an elderly police officer in uniform with a few long bloody gashes across his cheek, relaying his own version of the events.

"_Upon his arrest the bomber immediately jumped to his own defence, claiming that an anonymous benefactor has approached him via the internet with evidence that Mr Kornokovich, the owner of the bombed pet store, was involved in immoral acts involving animals, including but not limited to underground animal testing, torture, and usage of the animals to smuggle drugs and valuable stones. We are currently chasing this lead down but even if Mr Patrick isn't lying, the truth remains that his choice of bombing the building was both irresponsible and deadly. Everybody knew that it was just a matter of time before A.R.M. began to construct bombs that caused massive damage such as this."_

Anna frowned as she swallowed her drink and shifted in her seat. "Bombing a target merely due to the supply of anonymous information? Perhaps he has gone insane."

Kate nodded, her eyes remaining on the television screen while her two companions turned away from the device. "I wouldn't doubt it. This is why I don't like the militant animal rights groups like A.R.M. They do nothing but cause havoc and destruction everywhere and none of it helps their aims."

Neither of the girls noticed the small, proud smirk on Beyond's face when his ears strained to listen to every word of the report. He almost burst out laughing, having to mask his chuckled with mouthfuls of food, when the news showed a short interrogation clip, Troy Patrick sweating puddles as he continuously insisted he was contacted with the solid information and that he demands for the police to look for the files on his personal computer.

Oh, how easily people were manipulated.

He didn't expect for the militant activist to cause so much damage but he was pleased nonetheless. He had ten pages worth of information ready, in case Patrick demanded more proof or his identity but it seemed like the preparation was unnecessary. Smiling to himself, his eyes flickered to Anna, the brunette pulling a face at something Kate's whispered as she leaned over the table.

It all went very well indeed.

Anna will be safe now, having no reason what so ever to leave his side. Beyond masked his contentment for this with the thoughts that now she will be much easier to manipulate, to control and with her weakening state he couldn't help but feel like a parent who had dealt with their child's bully.

The girl in question rolled her eyes at Kate – the blonde had the nerve to suggest that the two of them go on a double date – and turned to Beyond, surprised when she noticed the genuine smile directed at her.

She looked around her and shrugged her shoulders and when his smile didn't drop she smiled back, albeit rather awkwardly, confused. Her eyes remained on him long after he buried his head behind a mug of sweet coffee.

.

* * *

.

Beyond stared down at Anna's form on the floor – she seemed to have fallen asleep while reading a book on medical plants – with a frown.

She looked rather peaceful when she slept, unburdened by the thoughts in her head. He wondered whether her mind was plagued by nightmares like his but her calm state suggested otherwise. She was paler in the early morning light; a shade he preferred on her to the tan she gained after spending hours in the Californian sun.

He blinked, shaking his head. No, the way she looked while sleeping was not his concern. What he was worried about were the red numbers silently floating above her head.

Another day passed and her lifespan has been shortened by another single digit.

He knew that translated in human numbers, the drop would be too pitiful of an amount to even speculate over, but he had never seen the numbers lower before, and hers has continuously and without fail lowered for over five days.

He couldn't ignore it for any longer.

It surprised and intrigued and most of all _annoyed _him.

On Sunday morning Anna went to her doctor – the man was not relevant enough for his name to remain in Beyond's head – but brought back home an annoyed frown and an empty head, pounding with a headache. He saw from the moment she entered through the door on that day how it frustrated her, of course her reaction when she found him on her portable computer was not any less humorous.

And it frustrated him too: in fact he expected for her questions to be answered and when she came back with an apparent clean bill of health he was genuinely surprised – of course he had to admit that a blood test was most likely one of the least reliable of methods to determine a major declination of health. _He_ had not missed the constant headaches and the metallic smell of blood in her vomit (thankfully those specific cases have lessened) or the occasional fainting spells. And none of it explained the medical student's hallucinations either.

Although Beyond wasn't one to talk when it came to Anna's claims of seeing a shinigami: after all, he could see the name and the lifespan of all those around him.

The only difference is that she tried to block the problems out, she did not talk or seemingly think about them soon after the experience while Beyond could not stop letting his mind wander back to them.

He knew that he was not simply seeing things. The only rational explanation for Anna's numbers to drop would be like a medical condition – but even then the theory clashed with everything he has experienced. An unexpected disease wouldn't change her lifespan for it would be an unavoidable element of fate and already incorporated into said lifespan. Still, he crouched down until he was inches away and sniffed the air surrounding her.

Some illnesses, like colds or medical conditions involving any of the body's major organs like lungs or liver, always exhibited a curious scent around the infected person, though it would only be obvious to a trained nose.

Beyond didn't smell anything. Biting his thumbnail, he placed a hand over Anna's forehead and frowned when he didn't detect anything else other than the thin sheet of sweat due to sleeping under a heavy cover in the summer.

And then it hit him like a sack of bricks and he recoiled from Anna as if burnt.

He cared.

He was not simply pretending or improvising anymore or acting in the heat of the moment in order to control her or get a few laughs out of the situation. He genuinely felt sadness and anger at the thought of Anna's unexplained health problems.

The concern in his gut was an alien feeling and for a moment he considered to drown it with a few jars of strawberry jam.

Beyond stood to his feet and patted his clothes down. He pulled the gloves from his back pocket, for he did not need them that day. He kept Anna in the corner of his eyes as he threw on his shoes and over his long shirt pulled over Anna's grey jacket and ruffled through the house to collect the few things he needed for the day.

With a last glance towards the girl's sleeping form he ran a hand through his hair and excited the apartment. He was leaving early but his mind screamed in protest at remaining in the room with Anna for any longer. A deliberate bounce to his step he kept his eyes on the brightening sky. He allowed himself a small smile when he remembered Anna cutting the roman numerals into Believe Bridesmaid's chest. She was indeed quite skilled.

But he composed himself and slowed his pace, lowering his head so his hair would cast a shadow over his face for he will get a chance to relive his memories soon enough. That's where he was headed: to the scene of the first Wara Ningyo doll murder.

And as Beyond turned the corner, his hands stuffed into the pockets of the jacket where his fingers played with the few business cards, he wondered where he should hide. In a closet, under the table? Perhaps under the victim's bed? Entering and remaining in the house in any orderly fashion was out of the question.

He couldn't help but laugh a little to himself.

It was time to steal a peek at L's playing hand.

.

* * *

.

**A/N: Start Trek references are good references. (I apologise that this chapter is so short. I wanted to update with at least **_**something.**_**)**


	21. Suffocation

_(…and with sharp fingernails she etched her name in the soldier's swords.)_

_._

Beyond stared at the woman's leather clad retreating back with bulging eyes, biting his thumbnail.

_Naomi Misora._

She was… curious.

She said she was a detective but she didn't produce a badge and she didn't claim to be a private investigator. The lack of badge could be explained of course, after all he did not ask for it, but it seemed surprising for a law enforcement officer of such a rank not to flash their authority at every given opportunity.

What intrigued Beyond more was that she had moved to grab her weapon when she evidently did not have one – well, evidently to him. She merely stuck her hand against the lining of her jacket giving the impression of possessing a firearm. Her want to appear tough and armed amused him, as she wasn't as good at masking her nervousness as she thought.

While she was in the bathroom he clearly heard through the door that she was on leave.

But on the leave for what? Never mind. He would find that out once he got hold of Anna's laptop. He waited for Naomi to turn the corner and hurried after her to make sure that she was not spying on him. Once he had confirmed she was not intent on following him he left, stuffing his hands in his pockets and pulling the baseball cap over his head, whistling as he wondered how he should test the female detective.

She did not reveal that she was working under L – though he did not blame her for he gave the impression of a stranger of the most curious kind – but it would be painstakingly wrong not to assume that she was. This was L's move, signature and all.

And everything had gone according to plan. He had surprised Naomi greatly when she discovered him under Believe Bridesmaid's bed and her reaction was even more humorous than he expected it to be. He spent the entire contact deliberately acting as eccentrically as he could and Naomi's responses didn't disappoint.

However if she truly was a homicide detective – and Beyond began to believe her words once he recalled her reactions and the way she held herself – she was undoubtedly an emotional one. A cool and clear head would be standard procedure yet Miss Misora had no trouble hiding her shock or distaste towards the man who crawled out from under the bed unexpectedly and introduced himself as Rue Ryuzaki.

He wasn't worried even though her emotional state made her more unpredictable. It would only make the time spent with her more amusing.

And she was stubborn. Perhaps it was simply her apparent distaste to him but Misora refused to acknowledge any of his theories until he pointed them out persistently at least a dozen times. It was almost beginning to drain him despite the few jars of jam he had consumed for lunch.

He lowered his head as a group of rowdy teenagers passed and bit his lip, struggling not to laugh. He couldn't wait to find out more about her. He had already confirmed to be a rather worthy detective. But was she worthy enough to be his opponent?

.

* * *

.

Anna choked on her tea, spluttering the light brown liquid all over the kitchen table. She coughed and hit her chest with a closed fist a couple of times before her throat cleared up and she glared up at Beyond, her lips stretching around her question in a snarl. "She's _what?"_

Beyond rolled his eyes and took in a deep breath before repeating his words. "Naomi Misora – she's a detective, and she appears to unquestionably be the person L has chosen to investigate the case for him."

"Okay, first, the woman you are talking about is an FBI agent, not a detective. And secondly: you're still set on helping L's chosen hand, this Naomi Misora, to solve the case?"

If Beyond was surprised that Anna knew who the woman was down to the nickname, he didn't show it. "Yes."

Anna's mouth remained open, her eyes slowly widening as realisation filled her mind. "What- Why the hell would you be helping an FBI agent?!" She stood, the mug almost toppling over as the chair scraped against the ground and she rested her weight on the table with her hands. "I don't want to go to jail just because you have a petty crush on a hot federal agent. Are you trying to ruin my life? Did you not hear me? She is an _FBI agent_."

The only reaction the man in front of her gave to her outburst was a raised eyebrow.

The brunette shook her head with disbelief, her hands flying when she attempted to exhibit her distaste and discontent at his plans through gestures. "I can't- It's- Go to hell!"

She threw her arms in the air and stalked out of the kitchen area, making sure to violently shove herself out of his way as she passed.

Beyond spun on his heels, following her into the main room with slumped shoulders. "Relax! She won't be smart enough to figure this out in time even if she had two of me to help her."

Anna whirled around, her hair wrapping around her neck with the force. "Oh, so that makes it all okay!" she laughed, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "My bad!"

"Are you underestimating me?" Beyond asked, fighting to keep the slight hurt from his voice.

The medical student shook her head, resting her hands against her desk to diminish the sudden ache in her head. "I am not underestimating you, Beyond, I think you are underestimating the FBI agent. She has made quite a reputation for herself, you know."

Beyond shrugged his shoulders. "That's precisely why I need your computer right now so I could conduct appropriate research about her."

Anna slowly turned to him slowly, with a glare, wincing at the smile on his face. "Why do you even ask?"

"I didn't ask," he protested, slightly pushing her away so he could reach into the draw containing the device.

The girl rolled her eyes. "No, of course you didn't. I apologise for making such a ridiculous assumption." She gritted her teeth, swallowing the burning taste at the back of her throat.

The small headache quickly manifested into bursts of sharp pain directed to the centre of her forehead. It spread to her neck and her shoulders and the medical student massaged both areas, grunting when all it did was make it worse as the burning feeling reached her chest.

Beyond folded himself into a seat on Anna's bed and opened up the laptop, his fingers drumming on the surface as his eyes flickered to the wincing figure to his side. "What exactly do you know about this Naomi Misora, then?"

Anna swallowed, cursing when her sides burned as she turned to face him and attempted to rest against the desk in a nonchalant manner but failed when her heart painfully thumped in her chest and she tightly crossed her arms to try to rid herself of the feeling.

She shrugged awkwardly. "Not much really – after all, the FBI business is usually kept under wraps. I think she's been on the news a couple of times though – that's where I recognise the name from. She's a Japanese national but is part of the American FBI taskforce. If she's the person L chose I would beware if I were you: apparently she did not choose the nickname 'Misora Massacre' willingly."

Beyond hummed and he expertly hacked into the systems, though the FBI's security firewalls were much stronger than the Los Angeles police department's still within minutes he was scanning through the forbidden files.

It seemed like Anna's words were right: Naomi Misora was an FBI agent with a rather gruesome and yet admirable arrest record. His eyes searched for the reason she has been temporarily suspended until he found it.

Her team had spent months secretly investigating and infiltrating a drug cartel, hours upon hours spent on surveillance and undercover work, enough to fill a dozen file cabinets but faced with a thirteen year old criminal she had failed to act as is instructed and demanded from an FBI agent.

She had been unable to pull the trigger when its target was a child.

It seemed like Naomi was your typical White Knight. Sure she had failed the operation but Beyond doubted that once she came back and resumed with her work, in her personal file the failed case would soon be buried under the reports of successful operations. The case would never be forgotten – it would simply appear less significant against the others.

Well, unless Naomi was too affected by the failure of her last case to continue work as an FBI agent but he doubted it. She had not shown signs of trauma or anything of the sort that would affect her efficiency to deal with things.

A mild coughing distracted Beyond from his thoughts and he looked up at Anna with a raised eyebrow. But the question in his eyes was replaced with shock and within seconds he was next to her, holding the girl who was on her knees on the ground, pulling at her hair and coughing violently.

"Anna!" He shook her by her shoulders but the brunette was unable to reply, her lips numbly moving around soundless words too jumbled for Beyond to read. He quickly took her pulse, frowning when he felt the speed her blood was pumped around her chest.

Anna cried out in pain, no longer able to hold the pain behind gritted teeth. Beyond laid her on the carpet when she shook violently, his brain scrambling on strands to figure out what on earth was going.

Her eyes widened and she screamed before shutting them, clasping her hands on her neck as if she was being strangled and was trying to rip off the invisible rope from around her neck. She convulsed and shook, reaching for empty air with curled fingers, the breath hitching in her throat.

Beyond scratched at his head, scanning her before his widening eyes settled on above her head and he froze, his mouth dropping open.

As the girl continued to shake and cry out in garbled words, the numbers above her head were out of control. They went up and down repeatedly, as if the fate couldn't decide whether the medical student should die in five minutes or in a hundred years or anything in between. For a second, the numbers froze and Anna stilled, the shaking coming to a halt and she laid on the ground limply, her fingers and head occasionally twitching as if an insect that has just been swatted and its body was exhibiting the last involuntarily reactions.

The black haired man allowed himself to release a sigh of relief, only to jump when the numbers flickered before plummeting down rapidly, so fast his eyes could barely keep up. He scrambled to his feet, jumping over Anna's body on all fours, his knees on either side of her as he brought his hands together and situated them above her heart.

"No, no, no" he growled, his entwined fingers pumping on Anna's chest in a well-known rhythm of chest compressions in order to raise any signs of consciousness. His own blood raised as his stomach was filled with dread and panic, a feeling he couldn't recall ever experiencing.

He paused after the first set, cursing when Anna didn't move. He took in a deep gulp of air, ready for the rescue breath when he noticed the small trail of blood leaving through the corner of her mouth. Momentarily hesitating he decided on hands only CPR, forcing his mind to focus on the hundred thumps a minute rather than the fact that not a single breath was leaving her chest.

Anna's eyes suddenly shot open and she sat up with lightning speed, gasping for air. Beyond jumped back in shock, relief washing over him before his hands were around Anna again, cradling her like an infant.

The girl's eyes remained wide open as she grasped at the strands of her memory, her vision blurry. But she could feel somebody's arms around her and she enveloped herself in the comfort of their warmth, her ears failing to interpret the incoherent mumbles into her ear.

Her memory returned to her before her vision did and she was able to distinguish that the arms belonged to Beyond but she didn't move, instead her fingers gripping at the fabric of his sleeves, her eyes only being able to see the blurry outline of his pale face.

Her mouth felt dry and she had to cough a few times before her throat was clear enough for her to speak. "Did I just have a heart attack?" The statement left her lips in an attempt to bring any sort of explanation to the event, despite whether it was correct or not. She gagged at the blood on her hands and wiped her mouth with her sleeve, shivering.

Beyond didn't answer, his mind still racing from the event and he simply let Anna burry her head into his chest, placing his chin on top of her hair. In all honesty he had no idea, and if it was a heart attack, it was the strangest one he had encountered or heard about. And if it was a seizure, it was an incredibly violent one. He was stuck between the horror he felt at the idea of Anna dying, such a painful death as well, and the confusion that littered the corners of his eyes: the lifespan above the girl's head.

The red numbers flickered, slowing before they stabilised and returned to normal, albeit a single digit lower than the number he saw that morning before leaving. His eyes narrowed and he wrapped his hands tighter around the girl in his arms, a sudden feeling of dread in his chest.

Despite the passing of the storm he didn't let himself relax, focusing on nursing Anna to calmness and hopefully to sleep so he could be left to his thoughts.

To distract himself, he began to plot a small test for the FBI agent. Perhaps he should attack her, just to see the state of her physical strength? No, no, such a test would not be a physical test but a mental one: he would be surveying not only her ability to fight back but her reaction to a physical confrontation. Of course in no way was he going to kill her while she provided some entertainment and besides, she was not an intended victim, and he was rather curious as to how far L will reveal himself in such a 'special case'.

There's only one victim left.

How far will L go to solve this case, only to fail?

Anna groaned in between the fabric of his shirt, grumbling about a sick feeling in her stomach and the sharp pain in her temples and the way she will improve the medical system once she graduates into the field, and by the end of it all she could barely hear or understand herself what she was saying.

In between her mumbles, Beyond could slightly make out Anna calling him an idiot and his lips involuntarily twitched upwards.

He never thought of himself as an idiot.

But admittedly caring about Anna, let alone trying to save her life when just mere weeks ago he was contently set on killing her with his own bare hands, certainly made him feel a little…foolish.

.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so a small note: **I am VERY cautious about bringing Naomi into the storyline - from Beyond's POV of course - and I am still not sure whether to put her face to face with Anna. I would love to write it, but then I would have to tiptoe around the subject of Anna being suspected at the end. If I don't make Naomi suspicious after she's seen Beyond and Anna together, it would be such an insult to her character I could not bear it. **But anyways, I will stop rambling for it is something for me to ponder over. **


	22. The Enabler

_(Her whispers were carried by the wind and her existence was in the chaos of the aftermath of her works.)_

.

I cracked my neck, smiling when the first rays of sunlight warmed my skin. The pale blue sky was littered with stars, and for a moment I let myself get lost in the beauty and the freshness of the human world.

We shinigamis can watch this realm for hours every day and every night, but very few of us get to taste its air.

The shinigami world is… Well, in the words of Ryuk: rotten.

I shook my head, scratching my headdress piece with my hook. A lone feather fell and I followed it with remorseful eyes as it was flown along the current of the strong wind.

This has turned out to be a very cold summer.

I rose to my feet from my crossed legged sitting position on Anna's roof, cracking a smile when a new addition to my cluster of decorations rattled against the other bones.

The new skull was smaller than the rest, one of an animal I failed to identify and that was the sole reason for keeping it.

Bones were so much more precious than that gold Dalil is obsessed with. She might as well walk around with the head of a magpie.

I cackled to myself at the image as I let myself sink through the ceiling and land silently on the headboard of Anna's bed. It released a slight creak but the two subjects lying on the ground didn't react: one of them was sound asleep and other was already awake with his attention focused entirely on the girl by his side.

Well, on the lifespan above Anna's head would be more precise. I didn't miss the fact that the number dropped yet again, much to my distaste and frustration at being reminded that I have not yet discovered the cause of that.

I watched intently with a tilted head as a small trail of blood made its way downwards from Anna's nose, reaching the middle of her right cheek before it was noticed. I merely observed, not worried enough to respond.

Beyond pulled on his sleeve and wiped the blood away before returning to his previous position by her side, lying down with an arm under his head and a strangely content smile on his face.

It was surprising. I didn't expect him to show concern out of everything. Perhaps he is capable of such emotions after all.

Beyond didn't spend the entire night staring into the space above Anna's head. He actually slept there on the ground, despite how uncomfortable the place or position was, but he couldn't bring himself to move.

Whenever he moved to pull Anna up into his arms so he could lay her on the bed she shifted and moved as if to wake up and he froze every time, like a deer caught in headlights before lowering her back down. He tried to leave her alone too, set on returning to the portable computer and continuing with his research, but whenever he left the radius of a couple of feet an uncomfortable feeling pulled at his chest and he found himself by her side again.

In the end, he managed to lift her head from the ground enough to place a pillow under it and threw a blanket over the both of them. The steady rhythm of Anna's rising and falling chest eventually lulling him to sleep.

He woke at the first brake of light and managed to get himself away from his captor long enough to shower, change his clothes and give his eyes a fresher illusion of dark circles under his eyes before returning to Anna's side.

"What are you up to, Beyond?" I muttered, scratching my chin with a single claw. The expression on the young man's face was impossible to read. Slowly he lifted his head and to my utter surprise placed a whisper of a kiss on the corner of Anna's lips.

He pulled away slowly, as if expecting Anna to jump and hit him, his face a mixture of fear and puzzlement and confusion and perhaps every emotion known to the mankind.

_I_ expected Anna to jump up and hit him. Or at least to smile or shiver and frown, or display any kind of reaction people in a situation like this do.

But she didn't. She didn't as much as bat an eyelid, remaining still, her breath undisturbed as if Beyond had not touched her at all.

Finally, after a glance to the brightening sky outside Beyond managed to pull himself away from the brunette with a somewhat apologetic look to his eyes as he took her wallet and her keys and began to pull on his shoes. I let myself drop to the ground beside Anna, poking her shoulder but the action had no response.

Perhaps she was dead?

The girl coughed in her sleep as if to contradict my thought. I laughed, even my own cackle sounding lighter when I was in the human world.

Beyond's eyes snapped to Anna when she shifted and he took in a deep breath, as if to resist the pull to lay himself back down next to her. But he dismissed the thought, although it pained him, and with one last look at her direction he muttered a low goodbye and left the apartment, already mapping out in his head what he had to purchase for his test for Naomi Misora in only a few hours.

Well, before he could buy things he first had to steal a car.

I frowned at the expression on his face as he shut the door, and gazed at the thick sheet of wood long after he left.

A curious man, isn't he, this Beyond Birthday?

I turned back to Anna, moving her hair from her face, remembering my last visit to this small house.

The brunette had demanded of me why she was the only one able to see me.

And as entertaining as it was to watch Anna freak out like an anxiety ridden schizophrenic teenager, I had to admit that the main reason for my lack of response was… embarrassment.

I could argue that I would have exposed the existence of the death note and most importantly its rules – rules that should only be known by the shinigami and the humans in possession of a note – but I was intelligent enough to admit my own embarrassment. I could be thankful for the fact that nobody knew and Ryuk, despite being the only other involved and being the biggest gossiper and lie-spinning shinigami that inhibited the shinigami realm, when it came down to it knew how to keep a secret.

I pouted – or at least I would like to imagine that my face was able to pull such an expression – and rested by head on my palm, the skulls decorating the chain dangling from my hip scraping noisily against the floor.

If it wasn't for that stupid bet I would not even be there. I would not have glanced at Anna twice, perhaps only lingering my gaze on the medical student for a moment to pity her for being manipulated by a serial killer.

But although I wouldn't ever admit this to Ryuk: I was thankful for the excitement of the results that the loss of the bet brought into my otherwise boring existence.

I now waited for the day when Ryuk would drop his second note into the human world. He confided in me that he is plagued with the overwhelming weight of boredom and doesn't know for how much longer he can resist. I hoped it happens soon: perhaps before the poor shinigami who had dropped it realises that Ryuk is the one who has it.

Seriously. The apple-loving bastard still brags to everyone how he fooled the shinigami king into giving him a spare – how had he not been punished yet? We shinigamis can be rather detached – but it still occasionally baffles me how ignorant and foolish some of them can be.

Anna groaned beneath me, and rolled over to her side, her arms lying where Beyond laid a moment ago. Good thing he left: if he was still here he would have been not so elegantly slapped in the face.

I giggled at the thought, a giggle that soon turned into a throaty cackle. I quieted when my ribs began to ache and when my headdress was beginning to slide down my head I righted it and sobered, remembering the reason I was there in the first place.

With one swift movement, I wrapped a claw around Anna's wrist and raised it from the ground, my eyes hungrily observing the lifespan.

It flickered, but didn't change. The same numbers floating above her head in a red glow. I frowned and unceremoniously dropped the hand back to the ground, slumping on the floor in a dejected manner.

Dammit.

It seemed like my presence was not the catalyst.

Back to square one.

.

* * *

.

_I rolled my eyes, muttering a string of curses under my breath. If I had pockets, the both of my hands would be stuffed in them but alas, I did not possess any human clothing and instead crossed my arms, the hook scraping at the leathery skin._

"_You lost – Hyuk, hyuk." Ryuk sang, cackling away as he danced behind me, running around in zigzags like a long legged spider. "I guess you're not so smart after all, are you Zerhogie? Hyuk, hyuk!"_

_There is nothing more irritating to a shinigami in the both of the shinigami and the human world's realms than Ryuk's laughter._

_A shinigami's laughter _when he's _happy._

_Was it possible for a god of death to die from embarrassment? I was about to find out. If I could blush I would be on fire, charred in seconds._

_Ryuk's satisfied cackling made me want to convulse within myself until nothing remained but the headdress._

_Damn that apple obsessed idiot._

_I have lost a bet to him._

_A bet so simple I will never be able to live it down. And that bastard won by cheating – not that I could complain for despite the fact I could outsmart most of the shinigamis in this realm, cheating was a natural part of the shinigami's character, to the point where it's not even about the games or the challenges anymore but merely about who can out-cheat who._

_Therefore I could not blame Ryuk for it was a bet between the shinigamis and despite my dislike for the agreed rules, I could not change them._

_But he could at least do me the favour of not acting so smug about it!_

_I slowed when we neared the portal to the human world, the feeling of dread I have forgotten scratching at the back of my neck and I awkwardly cracked my neck, desperate for any action to delay what was to happen._

_But Ryuk didn't follow my lead, instead jumping right to the edge ahead of me, his laughing never losing any of its volume or its annoying ringing. He jumped from foot to foot, as if performing a tribal dance around the fireplace, his laughter echoing across the wasteland. "Go on then, feather-head," he motioned downwards to the portal, his grin splitting his face in half. "Just as we agreed: down goes the note!"_

_I gaped, turning so the note dangling from my hip was out of his line of sight. _

"_I thought you were joking!"_

_The nerve of him!_

_Ryuk cackled away, shaking his head, the small delicate heart shaped earing he had found dangling from one of his ears. "No, no, no - hyuk, hyuk. Go on, Zerhogie, hurry up. I want to put another bet: I want to see how long it will take for it to hit the ground from all the way up here."_

_I walked up to the portal and gazed down the dark swirling tunnel, frowning. Ryuk clapped his hands excitedly, twitching with anticipation._

_Damn Ryuk, and damn his ability to be unexpectedly clever. Damn him and his persuasion skills when it comes to convincing someone to take a bet, no matter how ridiculous the price of losing is._

_How was I dragged into this again?_

_I drew a blank. All my mind was focused on was on the black note book dangling from my hip as I picked it up and held it between two fingers._

_Some of the death notes were different. Some gods of death wrote 'Death Note' in a chosen language in silvery pen on the cover. Ryuk had written 'Death Note' in English long ago, down to the note's rules on the inside of the cover scribbled down in his messy scrawl._

_I didn't choose to defile my killing tool in such manner – I didn't really see the point either way, it's not like I planned to drop it into the human realm after all – but now I began to slightly regret it._

_My punishment for losing the bet against him was to drop my Death Note into the human world for a human to pick it up. I could have of course complained to Armonia, for the bet violated our rules and the few shinigamis who have dropped a note into the human world always had a spare one and I did not but I shooed away the thought the moment it surfaced. A different shinigami might have done such a lowly act but I refused to – it went against everything I was._

_The bet was between me and Ryuk and I would handle my defeat with grace and dignity._

_Well, as much grace and dignity I could muster as I dangled what was essentially my life over the portal, swallowing the lump in my throat. What if the note was destroyed? I feared the mere thought of it._

_Why did Ryuk want to me drop it to the human world as my punishment?_

_Because he was _curious.

_He simply wanted to see who would pick it up._

_That bastard!_

"_No, wait!"_

_The exclaim was so sudden and so near that I jumped in the air, clutching the note to my chest out of instinct. "What's wrong?"_

_The grin was gone and he was grimacing, scratching at his chin, all signs of laughter gone. He plopped down on the grey sand crossed legged, propping his head in his palm. "I can't let you do that! If you drop the note into the world you will have to follow whoever picks it up until they die and that's too much fun!"_

_I sweat-dropped, taking a step towards him. "Too much fun?"_

_I was free! If I was Ryuk I would be dancing for joy._

"_I know!" he sat up with a shine to his eyes, lips set in a grin again. "Why don't you just drop a piece of a page?"_

_Crap. I had hoped he would abandon the whole note dropping business altogether._

_But I had to admit that I would have much rather dropped a page than the whole thing. I nodded in agreement and he jumped up, laughing again._

"_Hyuk, hyuk, go on then, feather-head!" he cackled, running to my side and staring pointedly at my note. "Let's do it before some other shinigami catches us."_

_I took in a deep breath, out of a step of a ritual than a need to and looked around us, scanning the empty horizon with disappointment._

_It seemed like I would have to go through with this after all._

_Collecting what little dignity I had I opened the note and pinching one of the pages half filled with names I ripped a modest corner of the note off. Reluctantly, I let it sit in my palm before swiftly moving my hand, the note dangling mid-air for a few moments before it was picked up by a gush of strong wind – Ryuk kindly helped by blowing it away from us – and carried down the portal._

_I had hoped that Ryuk would leave me alone to bathe in my embarrassment but instead he released one last throaty cackle before sitting down at the edge of the cliff, his feet dangling over the crag._

_I guess we will wait._

_I allowed myself to reattach the note to the chain at my hip and sit down next to Ryuk, the dark shinigami starting to laugh again the moment he glanced at my face and the both of us watched intently, our eyes trained on the thin piece of paper, flying through the rain and the wind of the human world unaffectedly._

_We had waited a long time before it hit the ground and when it did, Ryuk rubbed his hands together excitedly, muttering how this was almost as exciting as munching down on an apple._

_I wished I had his enthusiasm._

_A small pre-teen child was on a swing, seemingly unaffected by the hair blowing in her face. She breathed in the cold autumn air and yelled out "Scapula!"_

_The man behind her cheered and congratulated the child, pushing the swing before jumping out of its way, adjusting the round pair of glasses on the bridge of his nose._

"_Well done, Anna! Now what is the bone connected to it called, the upper arm one?"_

_The man did not hold enough resemblance to be the girl's father. His hair was black, a carpet of black curls that brushed the bottom of his ears and his eyes were the lightest shade of blue possible. He scratched at his neck behind the collar of the red flannel shirt and the brown leather coat._

_Perhaps a distant relative?_

_The brown eyed girl's eyebrows scrunched in deep thought as she let go of the chain with one of her hands and put a finger to her lips._

"_Come on, Anna," the man urged, his voice impatient but his face stretched in a smile._

"_Hang on, Uncle Sam!" the child complained, sticking out her tongue and attempting a kick at his hand when the swing came near him. "You gave me a full minute on the last one!"_

"_Come on," Sam Nixon clapped and rubbed his hands together. "It's an easy one. Starts with a letter 'H'."_

"_Humerus!" the girl suddenly exclaimed and rising to her feet jumped off the swing just as her uncle moved to push her._

_He staggered back with a shock, acting for the child in a dramatic manner at the display. Anna stuck her nose proudly in the air, wiping the hair from her face and attempting to stuff it into her brightly coloured scarf._

_The well recognised tune of the ice-cream was drifting through the chatter of the other children and the excited barks of dogs in the park._

_Anna's keep ears picked it up and she jumped in a spot up and down, turning her shining eyes to her uncle with her hands clasped with in a prayer. "Please?"_

_Sam Nixon laughed and shook his head ruffling the girl's hair. "How could I say no to those puppy eyes? Alright – but only because you've gotten seven bones right already!"_

_The child cheered and as her uncle left her side and sauntered off to the direction of a nearing ice-cream van she cupped her hands around her mouth, yelling "Get me a strawberry one with a flake, please!" into the wind._

_Her uncle waved over his shoulder to show that he heard her and Anna squealed happily, attempting to remain rooted on her spot but soon losing patience and she skipped towards her uncle who was already ordering two ice-creams from the van with a giant head of a clown on its roof._

_She stuck her hands out, running along the path in a doddle pattern, making flying aeroplane noises. "No!" she gasped dramatically, circuiting around a large oak tree. "Russia is under attack! Germany has launched its bombers into the air in their retaliation, what shall we do, Major?"_

_She cleared her own throat, momentarily stopping to pull the scarf closer around her mouth and resumed running with her arms outstretched, startling a flock of pigeons. "No need to panic, soldiers," she resumed, in a much deeper voice and a poorly attempted impersonation of an Eastern European accent. "Our jets are much better than theirs! Fire them into the sky- let's win this war!"_

_A dry leaf crunched underneath her step and Anna stopped, curious. She moved her foot and frowned when she noticed that what she stepped on was not a leaf at all, but a thin piece of lined paper. Curious, she bent down and grasped it in her red, cold bitten fingers and looked it over. It was empty, apart from a single word: Clarke._

_Was it a name? It must have been. The girl searched her mind for anyone she knew called Clarke but drew a blank._

_Sam Nixon called his niece's name and Anna's head snapped up, giggling when she saw him stumbling towards her, clumsily balancing the two ice-cream cones._

_Best hands in the city and he couldn't hold an item of food straight. She pocketed the piece of paper and ran towards him, her mouth watering._

_Ice-cream in the summer was good. Ice-cream in the autumn was even better._

.

* * *

**A/N: Our beloved Narrator returns! And have some Ryuk, because he is glorious and in my opinion the most intriguing character in Death Note. Here you go: now you know why Anna is the only one who can see Zerhogie. Hope the last two chapters were enjoyable!**


	23. Wound

_(She was loved – but loved from fear that was born in men's hearts at the sound of her name.)_

.

On the morning of August 16, Naomi Misora was assaulted.

By the very man whom she had a terrifying nightmare about the previous night – a dream that sent her flying out of bed only a few hours before: Rue Ryuzaki.

Beyond was waiting for the FBI agent downtown in his stolen vehicle, on Third Avenue. Just as he expected, the long haired woman was deep in thought and relying on a map to find her way to the second crime-scene and thus as she distractedly moved to take a shortcut through a deserted alley, he acted.

He was armed with a blackjack; the small bag filled to the brim with sand could barely be considered a weapon but it was undoubtedly effective and easy to conceal. He pulled the balaclava over his head and armed himself with a hefty club and with a predator's grace followed Misora into the alley where he struck at her with the blackjack from behind.

She ducked out of the way just in time, her training and general intuition having alerted her of the presence behind her despite the fact Beyond stalked after her with no more sound than Misora's own shadow.

Beyond had not been surprised at the fact that he missed – if anything, he would have been rather disappointment if she had not moved out of the way and was knocked out – and moved back just in time to miss Misora's foot flying towards his chin, for she reacted to the attack quickly, hitting the asphalt with both of her hands, and sufficiently retaliating with an attack of her own.

The FBI agent landed from the miss with her legs apart, her right hand in front of her face and her form slightly swaying in a firm stance and grip on the ground beneath her feet.

She had failed to kick him but it was not the true goal of the acrobatic movement. What she needed was a clean look at her assailant and now that she was facing him she let herself breathe out deeply. There was only one, and he was wearing a black mask, carrying a sturdy club in his left gloved hand.

Beyond observed her intently as she tightened her fists and set her eyes in a glare, challenging him. He hesitated at her confident stance, but only for a short moment, soon swinging the club at her.

The FBI agent dodged the blow, jumping to a cartwheel across the width of the narrow alley, her heel aiming to slam at the assailant's temple.

Beyond saw the attack before she even escaped his own and swayed out of the way without as much as batting an eyelid and spinning on his heels he broke into a run, leaving her in the alley with her map on the ground in a few short breaths.

Misora blinked, the assailant out of her vision before she even got back on her feet. She straightened up, convinced he was a man and the FBI agent was confident enough that she could beat him in a fight but the attack, albeit without damage and not entirely unexpected, did steal a few long breaths and she was not the strongest runner.

Beyond, however, didn't let himself get lost in thoughts of recollection and continued running until he was a couple of blocks away, jumping behind a metre high brick wall, pressing himself to the ground and listening intently for any following footsteps.

As he expected, she did not come after him.

But just to make sure he made his way to a dark alley and waited intently for a few long moments before letting himself relax and make his way to the sedan he left on the main road. Turning the engine on before he even shut the driver's door he sped a few sharp corners, with his eyes on the rear view mirror.

He still had plenty of time, enough to abandon the car in the already picked out parking lot, wipe the fingerprints from the car and shove both of his weapons and the mask under the passenger's seat, and still he will be in the home of the second victim a comfortable amount of time before Naomi Misora gets there – longer if the attack had made her paranoid and she was checking over her shoulder at every other step.

He shut the door to the vehicle and left yet again with a bounce to his step, a whistle drifting through his pursued lips and his hands stuffed down the pockets of his jeans.

He frowned and wavered mid-step while turning a corner and his thumb found his way to in between his teeth when Anna jumped into his thoughts again.

Without meaning to Beyond found himself hoping that she was alright and nothing strange happened while he was gone. He turned onto the street where the apartment block was located and brushed shoulders with a passer-by, images of the night before flashing through his head.

Beyond will find out the cause of her unstable numbers, the killer promised to himself. He will take her to the hospital and demand for every test known to the mankind if that's what it takes.

After all, there must be an explanation somewhere.

He cracked his neck, leaving his head at the odd angle as he rushed up the stairs of the apartment block before he stopped inside the second victim's murder scene closing the door firmly behind him and ridding his head from thoughts of Anna.

He was Rue Ryuzaki now: the eccentric private investigator; not Beyond Birthday the Serial Killer.

His eyes trained on the clock on the wall and he calculated the time.

Only moments before Misora would appear.

Beyond hummed with a thumb to his lips. Perhaps he should get down on all fours again?

No. As humorous as Naomi Misora's reaction was the first time he had done it – she would be expecting it this time. He needed something stranger.

He suddenly straightened up, a finger in the air and an imaginary light bulb flickering above his head. With a sinister smile, hardly able to keep himself from laughing Beyond made his way to the bedroom, his eyes levelled with the draw of the thirteen year old victim's clothing.

He had never planned to do anything to the FBI agent that morning, especially not in an alleyway so near to the crime scene. He was simply dishing out a test, to observe her abilities. He had no intention to hurt or kill her.

So if Naomi was concerned about the attack, she will be wasting her time because he has no reason to attack her again - neither would it do any good for next time she might not be so hesitant about running after him.

There was no outcome to the fight in which she would have died.

He _knew_ she would dodge and if he didn't he would have simply picked a lighter weapon to fling at her.

But still, even with her expected skills she has proven herself to be rather impressive. She dodged his attack without even turning around and instantly responded with a counter attack of her own. It seemed like the female FBI agent had both brains and guts.

It seemed that his opponent has chosen wisely.

He grinned as he opened the top shelf of a chest of drawers and heard the front door click open, the tap of heavy boots echoing throughout the small apartment.

Naomi Misora could not have chosen a more perfect time to open the door to the apartment 605.

Rue Ryuzaki spoke without even turning to face her, inspecting the shelf that _just happened_ to be filled with the deceased teenager's underwear.

"Ah, Misora. You're late. Please try to be on time. Time is money, and therefore life."

.

* * *

.

Anna woke with a start, her head immediately swimming at the sudden movement as she sat up and cradled it in her hands. For a moment she was confused as to why she was on the ground, wrapped in a blanket with a pillow under her head.

The harsh sunlight was drifting through the thin gap in between the dark curtains, a clock was silently counting the slow seconds and on the answer phone a single button was blinking red.

But then the events of the previous night revealed themselves and Anna was rushing towards the bathroom, bent over the toilet as she involuntarily emptied what little she had in her stomach.

She choked; her eyes and throat burning as she sat up, her hand grasping empty air for a whole minute before her fingers found the handle and she flushed the vomit down into the sewers.

Anna got to her feet shakily, wincing at the blood on her hands and at even more of it on her shirt. She removed it, scrubbing her arms and face at the sink until she could no longer taste the bile that she could still smell. But with a single glance at the mirror she scoffed, removing every single item of her clothing and filling the bath with scalding hot water – and emptying half a bottle of strawberry shower gel.

She climbed inside before it was even half full, not able took keep the childish smile off her face at being able to relax for the first time in what felt like years.

She folded herself in a foetal position, her arms wrapped around her legs and her head rested against the cool ceramic of the bath tub.

Her eyes were beginning to close and thoughts were slowly fleeting from her head and Anna welcomed the emptiness of the mind, letting not just worries but any kind of thought dissolve in a warm bubble of steam surrounding her. She moved only once – to turn off the tap when water has reached her neck, enveloping her completely in a wet warm blanket only leaving her head free.

And such a level of relaxation, in a limbo state between consciousness and the dream world, was why Anna jumped almost a feet in the air when the door was suddenly thrown open, Beyond barging into the room with an annoyed look on his face.

"What the hell?" she exclaimed, scrambling to cover herself despite being concealed in foamy water. She retreated to one corner of the tub, trying to put as much distance between her and the intruder.

Beyond ignored her horror and discomfort and dismissing her yells of protest climbed into the bath with his clothes still on, shoes and all, spilling water onto the bathroom tiles with the movement. Anna could only gape as he mirrored her in bringing his knees to his chest.

He stared at her wide eyed, his speech slurred at his lips moved around his thumb. "I cannot leave you alone even for a moment if I am to protect you, Anna."

"What?"

"I said I will protect you," he repeated. "And I am inclined to keep the promise."

Anna face-palmed, slowly dragging her hand down and partly obscuring her vision with her hair. "Can you, like, leave please?"

Beyond tilted his head to the side. "Why would I do that?"

Anna hit the water with a closed fist, successfully drenching Beyond's head with the violent wave. "Leave right now before I drown you, you pervert!"

Then she blinked and Beyond was gone.

She stared at the space where he was moments ago, confused. She could have sworn he was real. Her eyes flew to the door and for a few tense moments she didn't let herself relax, expecting the serial killer to come barging through the door frame to invade her personal space again.

But he didn't.

The brunette scooted closer to the edge of the bath, her eyes scanning the space on the tiles where he splashed the water while getting in, not spying a single drop of water.

What the hell?

Anna released a deep breath, running a hand through her hair.

Great, now she's seeing him in plain daylight too. As if it wasn't enough that he invaded her dreams, acting like a narrator that merely commented on the events with a curious smile or replacing any person of importance in her life.

She stretched out in the tub, sinking into the water until the foam tickled her nose. She momentarily sat up, coughing violently, and when she looked at her hand that flew to cover her mouth she didn't miss the few red drops. She rolled her eyes and winced at the burning scratching at the back of her throat, returning to lying down, letting the blood dissolve into the water until there was no presence of it ever existing.

Anna frowned.

The memory itself was slightly blurry but she could clearly hear the words he said to her after her hallucination of Justin Quinn at the Glass Station, as if he was right beside her.

_"Everything's alright. You're safe now. I will not let anybody hurt you."_

The very thought of him actually protecting her unnerved Anna.

How was it even possible for a man like Beyond, a serial killer who feels no remorse, who _enjoys_ the post-mortem mutilation of a human being, a psychopath who leaves severed heads inside fridges and fabricates emotions as if it's nothing more labouring that breathing, to feel _anything_?

What disturbed her more than him not being the emotionless monster she thought – and hoped, for it is so much easier to justify the wrongdoings of a crazy man in contrast to a sane one – he was, was how much in those borderline tender moments he reminded her of her uncle Sam.

Sam Nixon was mostly likely the only human being Anna ever felt close to, the only family member who understood her, the only person with whom Anna actually felt _safe_. And the idea of comparing Beyond to the beloved doctor seemed traitorous.

He saved lives while Beyond took them.

Anna rubbed her neck, her eyebrows furrowing when the white noise in her head was beginning to be replaced by a sharp headache.

She really didn't need this.

What she _needed_ to do was relax and clear her head so she could figure out what was going on with her body. If her family's doctor even dares to suggest yet again that there is nothing wrong that he can see with her insides she might find it hard not to bash his head repeatedly into his wooden desk.

But no matter how much she tried to shoo the thoughts and worries away they stayed, manifesting themselves into a violent high pitched screech she could hear even with her head underwater. It rose in pitch and volume to the point where Anna kicked the water with her feet out of frustration and stomped out of the bathroom, deciding if she can't even have a moment's peace she might as well not wallow in disappointment and self pity and try to do something productive with the time while Beyond is away. Because when he's back she knew she will barely have the space to breathe.

Having dressed in the first clothes she found, Anna paced around the living room towel drying her hair when she stopped, noticing the flashing answer machine. Confused for she did not hear anyone ringing, she approached it, realisation dawning on her when she remembered the red light flashing back when she first woke up.

Throwing the towel on the floor, Anna stepped around random discarded items and picking up the phone held it to her ear, pressing the button to listen to the voice message.

"_Good morning, Anna, I hope I have not disturbed you," _started the calm and patient and somewhat welcoming voice of Dr Foveaux._ "Your parents have reached out to me, apologising – I won't lie: I expected an apology from them – and we have come to an agreement that you should have one last session with me, simply to check on your progress and how you have been faring since you last saw me. We could even discuss the option of a referral to another therapist if you would be interested as I would recommend it and truthfully I already have a few reliable and great colleagues in question that could help you. If you please to do so, contact me whenever it is suitable for you and we shall arrange a meeting." _She paused, as if having finished and Anna moved to put the phone down when the last of the blonde therapist's words drifted through the speaker. _"I hope you're doing well."_

Anna put the phone down with a frown, before the robotic voice could give her the option of a redial. She had almost forgotten about Dr Foveaux and her sudden departure.

The final consultation, what otherwise would have been an event to look forwards to – not that Anna would admit it – now seemed like merely a tiring chore.

Taking in a deep breath, Anna picked up the phone again and dialled the number of Dr Marshall Jones, set on ordering every test he could provide – might as well while her parents were paying.

Ah.

That reminded her that she had yet another phone call to make, to let her parents know that her part-time job was out of the picture.

Great.

Even more things to do.

She blew a stray hair out of her face and groaned heavily at the awfully cheery voice of Dr Jones' secretary when she answered the phone.

.

* * *

.

_Anna cocked her head to the side, letting the spoonful of mashed potatoes drip back down onto her plate. "What do you mean?"_

_Sam Nixon pushed the food around his plate with a fork, looking up at his fourteen year old niece with a smile. He felt rather proud because despite the girl was due to soon enter high school, her enthusiasm and eagerness when it came to the medical field has not diminished – if anything it intensified and if his opinion held any authority, he decided the girl had a lot of potential._

_The brunette teenager frowned, taking a sip of her orange juice. "How could he have made a mistake?" She stuffed a huge piece of the steak into her mouth and chewed noisily._

_Sam put down his fork and rested his elbows on his dining table, surveying the girl that he was babysitting while her parents were away on a romantic holiday through furrowed eyebrows. "He made a mistake because there was a possibility for it to be made. Just because a job is more risky and people are more careful than usual, it doesn't mean errors are never made."_

_Anna stood her ground. "But such mistakes are rare, right?"_

_Sam Nixon shook his head, holding back a sad smile._

"_Even my colleagues, most of who are chief medical officers have made mistakes in the past. One of them, now an ex-surgeon made such a big one it cost him a patient's life and he was unable to let himself hold a scalpel again and now works in the major trauma department, helping people learn to walk again after a car crash and such._

"_Just because we are brilliant doctors, it does not mean we are omniscient. It is perfectly possible for us to make mistakes; it is simply much more frowned upon in a profession where one is dealing with life and death. You see, it is unlikely for a medical man to always work with the same precision, just as it is unlikely for him to know every illness in the world or be the best at every medical field to exist."_

_Anna sat back in her chair, her brown eyes focused on her uncle's folded hands on which he propped his chin. "But _you_ haven't made mistakes yet."_

_Her uncle shook his head. "I haven't made any major ones, no. But when I do, I expect the people responsible to disregard my position and punish me accordingly to the severity of my mistake, if punishment is required."_

_Anna nodded, although not entirely satisfied with her uncle's explanation. She chewed on another mouthful of food, following the man across from her with her eyes. _

_She sat up and looked down at her plate with a huff. "Well when _I'm_ a doctor I will not make any mistakes."_

_Sam laughed through half chewed food, pointing his butter knife at her. "You have to get there first."_

.

* * *

**A/N: How strange it is to re-write excerpts straight from the book, although I tried to change as much as I could while still keeping to the plot and the general atmosphere of the scenes with Misora. Also, I love Anna's uncle and I think I made a mistake of writing such an admirable character - I will try not to bore you with some many scenes of him, I swear.**


	24. Forecast

_(Unlike the other gods she did not demand it, she had no wish...)_

.

Anna raised an eyebrow, pausing mid-way in signing her name, the pen millimetres from the paper medical form. "What?"

She had managed to be inside her family doctor's office only an hour after making the phone call.

Must have been a slow day.

Dr Jones was absent and the reason for his lack of presence was never explained to the medical student – though the secretary's reluctance to discuss the matter made Anna rather curious.

Instead in the good old doctor's place was an Asian forty-something Dr Richards, a petite woman with narrow eyes and a sharp, chin brushing bob for a haircut.

She repeated herself with a patient smile. "Celiac Disease".

Anna shook her head, her eyes on the form as she signed her name on the dotted line. "There's no history of Celiac Disease in my family."

Dr Richards shrugged her shoulders, walking around the desk and sitting down in the big chair, clearing the piles of papers on the surface of her workplace. "Well a person can carry the disease and not know it – whether the condition never manifests itself or it simply goes a lifetime without being diagnosed."

Anna rolled her eyes as she handed the form to the doctor, slightly irritated. "Yes, I know all of that." She sat back in the patient's chair and crossed her arms, side-eyeing the secretary who was listening to their conversation less subtly that she believed herself to be. "I still stand by my statement and although I can understand there's a possibility of Celiac Disease, I doubt it would develop as late as adulthood."

The Asian woman started to fill in the form where required, her eyes on her elegantly moving pen as she spoke. "Well I think we should refer you to a gastroenterologist either way: even if just to rule out the possibility of a digestive disorder. During the last check up, Dr Jones noted that your body had trouble absorbing nutrients and you also complained of headaches, stomachaches and other symptoms relevant to the condition."

Anna nodded, defeated. "Fine – it's not as if I don't have time for medical tests."

Dr Richards chuckled lightly, signing her name before handing the sheet to the secretary, the woman filing it away in no way near a careful manner. Anna was beginning to relax, her eyes on the clock, wondering what Beyond was doing.

Then she scoffed and shook her head. Beyond was probably doing what any saint person would _not _be doing in order to not get caught for his crimes.

"Previously when you were in this office you mentioned headaches and vomiting spells and dizziness. " Anna looked up with a raised eyebrow when Dr Richards spoke, having expected the doctor to dismiss her. "I wanted to enquire whether you were developing any a little more severe symptoms such as hallucinations or sleep walking."

Anna sat up, her eyes trying to evaluate the look in the doctor's eyes. "Why?"

Dr Richards rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed, resting her arms on the desk and leaning forwards, her voice slightly lowered when she spoke.

"Well this might be a little early to speculate and perhaps I am wasting both of our time – my responsibility as a doctor simply urges me to explore every potential scenario – but have you considered a defect of the brain?"

The brunette shifted uncomfortably in her seat, suddenly aware at the ringing in her head and she lightly massaged her temples – as casually as she could so as to not attract attention to the action – swallowing the lump in her throat. "What, like a brain a tumour?"

"No, no, no. Nothing that serious!" the doctor shook her head with her palms outstretched towards her patient. "I was simply suggesting a scan, perhaps the problem could be as simple as a reaction towards the PTSD medicine Dr Foveaux has prescribed you: there's a high chance that the root of the problem is that your body either needs a bigger dosage of the drug or needs a different brand altogether."

Anna nodded slowly, her hand falling to her lap heavily. "So you want me to take a MRI scan just in case?"

Dr Richards folded her fingers together with a smile. "Yes, of the whole body not just the head of course. We could even do one straight away if you are up for it, though I must admit the results won't be able for your viewing until after me and the appropriate technicians have analysed it. I know that you're a medical student and all but I'm afraid the standard protocol must be followed."

"No, I understand," Anna agreed, anxious to leave the blindingly bright office. The walls were freshly painted white, the ceiling lights were on and the curtains were flying around the open windows, the blaring sunlight combined with the artificial light giving the room an eerily glow. "Uh, that scan would be a good idea, actually."

The secretary mumbled something under her breath and seemed less than enthusiastic to help as she roughly grabbed Anna's elbow, the girl shooting Dr Jones' substitute an alarmed look, and dragged her out of the room towards the room containing the magnetic resonance imaging device.

.

* * *

.

Anna winced when her head yet again bounced against the window, the whole bus rocking when the driver ran over a bump on the road. She shifted in her seat, positioning her head so her temples rested against the cold glass, cooling her head and thus the rest of her body.

Much to the distaste of most of town's residents, after the last few cloudy, windy and generally rather cold days the weather decide to do a full turnaround and Anna could have sworn, sweating in her pair of jean short and a t-shirt, that it was one of the hottest days of the year so far.

It was late afternoon and the weather was not cooling down in the slightest.

She tried to open her eyes, only to shut them again against the harsh glare of the sun. Beside her the city was flying past in a greyscale blur, and due to the headache that was only becoming sharper, Anna doubted that she would have been able to see much even if she had her eyes open.

Despite her trying to remain relatively calm in such a crowded public transportation vehicle, her thoughts kept returning to Dr Richards suggestion.

Was it really possible for her to have encephalitis – the condition was not necessarily specified by Dr Richards herself, the medical nurse barged into the MRI scan room and demanded of the personnel to perform a scan looking for it – or something along similar lines?

Anna hadn't studied the condition before for congenital brain defects and developing abnormalities were not covered by her medical school until the spring semester of a student's second year. The name did sound familiar however and she recalled having read a little about it, or perhaps her uncle was telling her some time ago – through the noise of the loud chatter around her, the ringing in her ears and the splitting headache Anna could not recall.

She swallowed, wincing when the back of her throat burned.

It unnerved her, for when the brunette focused and was able to recall a couple of symptoms they sounded more familiar that she would have willingly liked to admit.

But something as severe as encephalitis?

Encephalitis was an acute inflammation of the brain, most often caused by a viral or bacterial infection, and the basic symptoms included headaches, fever, fatigue and drowsiness among others while in a more advanced state a person could also experience seizures or convulsions, hallucinations and memory problems.

Anna shrugged, shifting in her seat and cracked open her eyes when she felt the bus was nearing her stop. She had to give Dr Richards some credit –the medical student admired the woman's abilities to make the connection and although she was still sceptical this was the cause of her current state of health she mostly felt silly that the idea never crossed her mind in the first place.

She frowned and bit her lip, standing up and getting ready to leave, but not before checking that she didn't leave anything on her seat or was unexpectedly pickpocketed in her sleepy state.

She had a nagging feeling in her head that if her uncle was still alive, he would be shaking his head in disappointment.

When Anna finally reached her apartment – running into almost a dozen lampposts in the process – she dragged her feet up the stairs, her drained energy levels forcing her to seek the support of the iron railing. She waved hello – and goodbye – to Mr Raymond, a middle aged neighbour who was leaving for work for his afternoon shift.

Late again.

And accompanied by an inside-out shirt, a week's worth of stubble on his chin and a spicy scent of rum surrounding him like an aura.

Her eyes followed him around the corner with slight pity and when he left her line of sight she shrugged, set on returning to her room and falling face first into her bed. She tiptoed past Jesse's door, not in the mood to socialise and trying not to underestimate the young musician's ability to sense a human presence despite the loud rock music drifting from his apartment.

When she was finally on the right side of her front door she let herself catch her breath and slid to the ground, revelling in the silence that surrounded her living space.

But soon her closed eyes fluttered open again and she frowned at the heavy weight on her chest, annoyed at the fact that her own mind didn't miss out on pointing out how quiet and empty the apartment seemed without Beyond's presence.

A shrill and loud ringtone blared through the walls and Anna jumped, hitting the back of her head against the wall in process. She cursed under her breath, wincing as she got to her feet and stalked towards her desk, her hand pausing only inches from the phone once she realised that it wasn't her home phone that was ringing.

Instead, the short, melodic beeps were coming from her side. She slowly walked towards her bed with strained ears, frowning at the noise before getting on her knees and sticking her head under the bed.

There it was: a small flip cell phone, vibrating against the carpet, flashing a rainbow of colours. Anna raised an eyebrow, curiously reaching for it for she was positive that she did not own such a device. Straightening up she flipped it open, confused at the sign of a new message flashing on the screen.

She clicked to read it, rolling her eyes at the message written across the screen.

"_The central park. Come at once if convenient – if inconvenient come all the same. BB."_

Anna scoffed, closing the phone shut and throwing it on her bed. "Was that supposed to be funny, Sherlock?" she called to the device over her shoulder. She didn't even reach the kitchen before the phone buzzed again, the annoying melody interrupting her thoughts yet again.

The brunette let out a heavy breath, her legs already carrying her towards the bed and the small silvery object. She flipped it open again, reading the words out loud this time.

"_If I gave the impression I was asking nicely – I apologise."_

Anna sighed, pointing towards the kitchen despite the fact Beyond could not see her and violently flipping the phone shut, burying it under the covers. "Coffee comes first."

.

* * *

.

A young man in a white lab coat rubbed his face with his hands, muffling his yawn in his palms. The small digital clock partly covered by paperwork read quarter to midnight.

The twenty eight year old looked as tired as he was – coffee somewhat helped to not fall asleep in the middle of examining the patient's MRI scans but towards the end of a twenty hour shift one's eyes begin to lower no matter how many buckets of caffeine they have consumed.

Taking in a deep sigh and blinking heavily under the fluorescent light of his small office, the medical worker signed his name under a scan, placing the lengthy sheet of paper on the 'done' pile and muttering under his breath, "nothing some medication won't cure, Mrs Blackwood".

He reached for his coffee mug, gulping down half the cup in one go and let himself shake his legs – the limbs numb after sitting in the chair for long hours – before he gripped the pen, reaching for a new scan.

The day might have lacked the usual amount of new patients but there was always enough paperwork to last into the early hours of the morning. And that's what he spend most of the day doing, assessing scans and signing his name, travelling to the other side of the hospital to talk to the doctors in question if any of the scans showed any major problems.

The highlight of his day was a young patient by the name of Anna Nixon. The girl was so dizzy after her MRI scan, she had to lean on him for support for a whole five minutes before she was able to get redressed and leave to go home. The reaction was not necessarily unusual; many people were weakened after their scans but who was he to protest to having his arms around a pretty girl.

The man shook his head, shrugging his white lab coat closer around him and clearing his mind, forcing himself to focus on the new scan in front of him. The sooner he's done, the sooner he'll get to go home.

He raised an eyebrow, the pen rising to his lips, immediately frowning at the strangely excessive amount of white areas present in the scan, concentrated around the head and the chest area.

"What on earth?" he muttered under his breath, about to look over his desk for the medical form that came loose from the scan when suddenly the lights went out and he jumped in his chair.

The blackout lasted for a fraction of a second, soon a pale red light illuminating the room. A knock sounded on the door and it was swung open, the young man turning around to squint at the harsh flashlight.

"Are you alright, Kevin?"

Kevin nodded, smiling in relief when the man in the doorway took a form of a male nurse in his late fifties. "Yes, I'm fine, George," he rose to his feet, slowly walking towards the older medical man. "Did we have a power cut?"

George stuffed his hands in his pockets after turning off the torch with a nod. "Yeah, kiddo. Didn't even last for a second thanks to the back-up generator but I thought I should round up what few men we have on duty tonight and check up on those poor sods we have plugged in."

The older man spoke with a thick Scottish accent, mumbling half the words but Kevin having worked with him for a long time merely nodded, throwing his pen on the desk and already walking past the door way to help with the check-ups of their most serious patients.

A second long power cut in a hospital was long enough to cause some serious damage and in some instances be fatal - he knew that. And live people in potential danger required their immediate attention.

Kevin rubbed his eyes with a sigh and George patted his shoulder, the pair leaving down the corridor. A few hurrying nurses rushed past the room to join them, a chief nurse barking orders. A gush of wind drifted inside the small office through the open door and fluttered the pages of the paper files. A lone sheet of paper, loose from the rest, floated towards the ground and in the blaring red light a messy scrawl could be seen, Anna's signature partially covered by a red paperclip.

.

* * *

**A/N: The hardest and most irritating part is when you already know how your story will end, but you have to get there first. Sigh. Review! **


	25. Layer

_(...or need or the place in her heart for the frail smoke from the burning incense...)_

.

Anna sighed as she stuffed her hands in the pockets of a jean coat, immediately regretting not changing out of her shorts into a pair of skinny jeans. The day might have been exhaustingly warm, but as the sun was lowering and painting the sky a rosy pink the wind has picked up its pace and she found herself shivering as she dodged out of the way of chatty teenagers and lovey-dovey couples and flocks of people rushing to their homes to get ready for a Friday night out.

The phone buzzed in her pocket as she entered through the gates of the central park she didn't bother to check the reason for it. The device felt strange in her arm – not that she never owned a phone, she simply found little use for it – and she knew the only person who had the number was Beyond and she didn't bother checking what he said if she was to see him soon either way.

She slowed to a snail-like pace and looked around, her eyes searching for the black haired man that dragged her outside to begin with, when she was fully contempt with burying herself under every blanket she owned. Maybe after napping for a few hours she would have not protested to even letting Beyond into her make-shift fort.

The brunette frowned, folding her arms across her chest.

Strange.

Where did _that_ thought come from?

She did find the man in question soon enough, immediately stopping mid-step, growling.

Beyond was sitting on a bench with his knees to his chest, waving with his arm in the air like a madman and yelling her name at the top of his lungs.

Anna yet again had that unbearable urge to turn around and walk back the way she came from. She almost did too, when a passing woman noticed the black haired mad waving at her and gave her a suggestive smirk.

She bent her head so her hair casted a curtain between her and the passers-by and hurried towards him, her jaw tense.

"Oh, I had no idea you were going to be at this park, my dear," Beyond started when she got within a few feet of him. "What a pleasantly surprising coincidence!"

Anna raised an eyebrow, deciding not to greet him in return, untrusting of her own mouth not to call him out on his bullshit. Suddenly she realised that three mugs of coffee was not enough to raise one's level of tolerance.

Beyond scooted to one side of the bench, a thumb to his lips, and patted the space beside him with a smile. "How was the visit to the good old Dr Richards?"

Anna didn't take the seat, tilting her head curiously to the side. "How do you know her name?"

"How could I not know?" the black haired man exclaimed, as if offended that she would even suggest that. He wrapped his arm around Anna's wrist and pulled. Anna yelped and clumsily fell into the seat next to him, banging her head against the bench's backrest. "Your old doctor apparently thought it would be a good idea to kidnap his son and flee the country as a result to losing his custody battle. There's a man hunt and everything. Don't you watch the news?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she demanded turning around and throwing him a glare. And how was she supposed to have watched the news with the television that _he_ had broken. She rubbed her aching head with a growl.

Beyond ignored her, shaking his head at his own previous statement about Anna's old family doctor. "Some people just can't handle defeat. "

Anna laughed sarcastically, raising her feet onto the bench so she could sit crossed legged and lean back comfortably. She shook her head at his words, rolling her eyes. "As if _you_ could handle any form defeat…And why are you set on acting out your 'Tom McCoy' personality again? You do realise your beloved audience is absent, right?"

Beyond didn't answer, putting a pale hand to her shoulder, watching with interest when the girl didn't jump as he expected but instead rolled her eyes and slowly turned to him with her eyebrow twitching. He grinned, biting down on his thumbnail.

"What are you smiling about?" Anna asked with annoyance, glaring between him and the arm that was touching her coat.

"You're getting used to me," he muttered under his breath observingly, more to himself than to her.

Anna released a disgusted scoff, picking his wrist up with two fingers and dropping it into his lap as if the limb was infected. "Sure. Why, I'm as used to you as a cornered mouse gets used to the cat."

She realised with little surprise that the headache and the uneventful visit to the hospital made her rather irritable.

Beyond stuck his tongue out at the comparison. "I think we established long ago that you are no longer my captive, Anna."

The brunette's eyes flashed before she straightened, a curiously challenging look on her face. "Really? Well I don't really have any obligation to be here then, do I? Good evening, sir."

With that she was off in a confident stride towards the direction of her home, her nose stuck in the air. But she was unable to get more than five steps away before Beyond threw his arms around her waist and whirled her around, steering her deeper into the park. "Don't act ridiculous, we have very important matters to discuss."

A sneer. "And what matters are those?"

"How the hospital visit went and whether they found out the reason for your languishing condition." His hold on her waist tightened, as if he was afraid she was going to try and run away again.

Anna barked a laugh, not even sure as to why she decided to humour him. "Let's see: first the doctor decided to spend ten minutes convincing me I had Celiac disease and then downwardly progressed into diagnosing me with Encephalitis and thus ordering an MRI scan which drained what little energy I had and had me leaving the hospital with even more questions than I had before."

Okay, so she was exaggerating.

Somewhat.

Beyond raised an eyebrow, frowning at her words. "I don't believe you have any of those conditions."

Anna threw her hands in the air, her shoulder bumping with Beyond's when he turned them to the right when the road ahead forked into two pathways and the left road was filled with rowdy teenagers. "Neither do I, but at this point I am starting to believe any explanation if there's even the slightest chance of making this go away."

The man by her side shivered, turning to her with a disturbingly serious expression on his face. "You're actually feeling that bad?"

Anna had half a mind to tell him no, she wasn't: her life was filled with nothing but sunshine and unicorns. Instead she threw him a 'really?' look with her eyes, shaking his head when his lips twitched.

"I did think so at first," he admitted, answering the unvoiced question. He turned back to the road ahead, sensing when Anna's gaze flickered to him and she observed him through the corner her eyes. "That it was just a way to get away so you could run to the police. But then that incident at the Glass Station…" Anna managed to gag in distaste at the memory before Beyond's eyes focused on her. "And the incident at your home when you almost died if I was not at hand…"

"So you believe me now?" She said the rhetorical question with raised eyebrows and a mockingly expectant smile. Her head protested at Beyond stating he saved her life but she didn't have the heart to say it out loud.

He smiled too, his gesture honest, before his eyes flickered to above her head and he frowned again. "Yes I do."

Anna didn't miss the action and turned to look around her, her eyes squinting when she didn't see anything that could have caught his interest. She turned back to him with a questioning look in her eyes. "Why did you do that? Look above my head like that?"

"I'm very worried."

The words caught Anna off guard and she tripped over her own feet, stopping the both of them. "Worried about what?"

Beyond turned around with his eyes closed, having realised he spoke out loud. When he opened them, he tilted his head to the side. Anna stood with the park street lamp right behind her, the light contouring her form in a golden glow. "Worried about you."

Anna laughed, crossing her arms. "About me?"

Beyond nodded and took a few steps towards her, silently thankful when she didn't back away. "I'm worried because I feel like I have very little control over your fate. I know when every single person will die. I used to think I know when you will die too. But that's gone now and I am unsure – and I am _never _unsure of _anything!"_

The brunette tried to focus on the man's voice but they mostly flew over her head – the very direction Beyond's eyes were trained on. Her eyes were flickering from his thumb in between his lips to his eyes. The make up under them was smudged and she felt an urge to wipe the imperfection away with her thumb.

His words soon began to lose coherency and instead he was spitting half mumbled sentences in a rush, half of them lost between his teeth and the rest yelling, as if they were on top of a mountain and unable to hear each other through the wind.

"And that frustrates me the most: the fact that I care. Emotional investment was not something I was planned to ever exhibit, let alone to someone who I was supposed to extort to my needs."

The end of his sentence was drowned out with an indignant "hey!"

He shook his head and wrapped his arms around Anna, the girl yelping when she was thrust into the hug, Beyond gripping her shoulders so tightly she was almost set on accusing him on cutting off her air supply.

"I just care about you and I don't believe I've even cared so much about anyone. At first I thought it was that feeling of friendship, but I know what I felt towards A was friendship and what I feel when I think of you or am next to you is not only stronger but more painful too." He momentarily pulled away, holding her at an arm's length. Anna opened her mouth before she was sure of what she was supposed to say, her mind struggling to catch up with his words, and so she merely gaped at his hair, unable to bring herself to look into his eyes. He sighed and pressed an awkward kiss on the middle of her forehead, the girl's ears immediately flushing and her stomach flipping at the uncomfortable feeling which almost immediately brought on a wave of a sharp pain the spot where Beyond's lips were pressed against her skin. He pulled away, taking in a deep breath, before burying his head in her shoulder and squeezing the life out of her as if to finish his words with his actions rather than his mouth.

"I don't think I can bear losing you," he finally finished but his words were muffled by her jacket and he loosened his grip, his fingers pulling at fabric.

Beyond pulled away from the embrace with a soft smile and poked her nose, before he resumed walking, motioning for Anna to join him by his side.

It was like something out of a romance novel.

Anna wanted to throw up.

She shook her head and followed him, awkwardly rubbing her arms and making a point of keeping at least a foot away from him, her shoulders still burning where he gripped them.

After their third lap of the park Anna slowed to a stop, rubbing her tired eyes with the palms of her hands. "How longer are we going to be here? No wait-"

She interrupted herself, squinting at the joyful look on his face. "Why are we here?" She held a finger into the air, squinting at a street lamp as she passed it, moving out of the way of a toddler on a tricycle and an overweight father chasing after him. "No wait – let me guess: we have gathered here today to spy out your next victim."

Beyond was a little annoyed, albeit he didn't show it. He shook his head, his smile not faltering in the slightest. "Nope." He made a point of popping the 'p' and crossing his arms behind his back.

Anna gave him a short benefit of the doubt before she surveyed him unbelievingly. "I don't believe you."

Beyond laughed and gave her a grin, a shine to his eyes before he pointed to a fast food restaurant they could see through the bars of the fence surrounding the park, stating they should probably eat and get back home.

"And I was thinking of swinging into that electronic store on the way home and getting you a television," he added, pulling on Anna's wrist towards the smell of food. The statement was so cheerful and full of self-importance, he might as well have proclaimed to visit Africa and donate millions of dollars to the starving children.

Anna coughed, rubbing her forehead when the headache didn't waver – she realised it might have been foolish to be upset when it didn't disappear simply by will of the mind – and frowned when the phone in her pocket vibrated.

"Why did you get me a phone?" she voiced her question and Beyond turned to her at the change of the subject.

"Oh, I simply didn't want you to be alone," he shrugged as if no big deal as they exited the park and he dragged her to the spot where they could cross the road. "Don't worry; it's pre-paid so there's no chance of it being traced back to me."

Anna rolled her eyes. "Right, because that's the priority of every normal person looking for a cell-phone. And anyways, what are you, my babysitter now?"

Beyond pulled a face at her words, the expression on his face making Anna unwillingly chuckle, an action she covered with a laugh. Her companion's eyes fleeted to her with a raised eyebrow but she simply smiled and spying no passing cars, placed a foot on the road.

.

* * *

.

Kevin violently shook his head, wiping his hair from his forehead. "No, I didn't make a mistake!"

Dr Richards removed her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation. "You don't have to be so defensive about this, Kevin. " She leaned back in her cheer, momentarily resting her eyes before they settled on the younger man in front of her.

"No it's not okay!" the MRI scan technician swallowed and rested with his palms against the desk, bent towards the woman. "There is absolutely no chance that the scanning machine was broken: every single patient before and after this one had perfectly normal scans."

Dr Jones' secretary rolled her eyes, filing her nails, a pending e-mail notification flashing on her computer screen. "Oh stop complaining, kid, so you messed up, big deal – get over it."

Kevin growled, his hands twitching into fists and for a moment, he wanted to whip around and yell at the woman's face but instead he took in a deep breath and gave Dr Richards a disbelieving look. He dug into his lab coat and pulled out the scan, unceremoniously dropping a few books on the ground as he spread it on the doctor's desk.

"Look," he pleaded. "That's all I ask, if I have truly made a mistake I will accept the consequences but all I ask is for you to_ look_ at the scan."

Dr Richards surveyed the stressed MRI specialist – momentarily questioning whether it was right for him to be at work only after a six hour break following the twenty hour long shift he pulled the night before – and nodded, sitting and placing the glasses over her nose again, squinting at the scan images while Kevin took a step back and crossed his arms expectantly.

"That's curious," she muttered, reaching for a pen and tracing the white concentrated areas around the person's chest. "This is highly unusual."

Kevin scoffed, shaking his head and pacing before the desk. "It's not just unusual – it's impossible! I have never seen a scan like this before in my life."

The secretary rolled her eyes and spun in her chair, muttering something about amateur medical men. Kevin ignored the statement although his knuckles itched.

"Did you establish whether the apparent inflammation is fluid?"

The young man barked a laugh. "If it was fluid, the patient would not be able to walk around. And I'm not even sure if 'inflammation' could be the right word for the condition which is present."

Dr Richards looked up from the page, her finger on the second scan image of the prefrontal cortex of the brain, with a raised eyebrow. "_Which_ patient exactly is it?"

I rolled my eyes, yawning and cracking my neck, and scratched my chest with my claws as the three sided argument resumed once again when the young man simply scratched his head and said he lost the form. "This is tedious."

Of course nobody heard my remark. How would any of them be able to see a shinigami? The kid ran straight through me, opening one the file cabinets and pulling out files, immediately dropping countless loose sheets of paper on the ground which not only he remained oblivious to, but also stepped on every single one as he made his way back to the doctor's desk, the asian shaking her head disapprovingly.

The woman with the nail file scraping at her nail polish glared at his back. "What the hell are you doing, you idiot."

Kevin ruffled through the files until he found the relevant one and pointed to a photo of a young brunette with a yell of triumph, throwing a rude gesture at the secretary behind him, which she gladly returned. "That's her!"

Dr Richards stood from her seat in surprise. "Anna Nixon?"

He grinned. "Yeah, the cute one!" His colleague gave him a disapproving glance and Kevin's cheeks reddened and he stuffed his hands in his pockets with a clear of his throat. "I mean, this is rather troublesome. Yes, we should probably call her or something."

The secretary popped her chewing gum, stuffing her nail file into the chest pocket of her lab coat and reclined in her chair with her hands behind her head. "And that concludes your usefulness in this room."

"Why don't you go-"

Dr Richards groaned, pulling at her hair as her eyes scrutinised every detail of the scan. "Will the both of you stop arguing for one minute? I have less than a quarter of an hour before my first patient and I want to spend it in peace considering it's Saturday and I should be in bed with my husband this early in the morning."

The younger man nodded and shifted in his step, throwing a hesitant look towards the doctor. "So, what do we do? How do we explain what the MRI scans show?"

The woman motioned towards him with a roll of her eyes. "Well _you _are the one who barged into my office without as much as knocking, claiming that the morgue must have dropped their scans into your pile, Kevin. What is_ your_ conclusion?"

Kevin shrugged. "Anna Nixon is the walking dead?"

He meant it as a joke, of course, for the two women in the room immediately trained disapproving glances on him. Kevin grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head with a frown.

I sat up however, my interest peaked.

And then after two long moments the gears in my head slowed to a stop and it clicked.

I burst out laughing, cackling away even louder when the flower plants in the office shook from my outburst.

So _that_ was the reason for Anna's dropping numbers? I suppose it was my fault, all along. I giggled, my shoulders twitching – the laughter then stopped immediately when I realised that the doctor ordered for the secretary to call the patient.

I frowned, scratching my chin. I could not let Anna find out what was wrong with her, could I?

What if she wondered around doing nothing but complain about dying?

_Gasp. _The horror!

I would most likely lose it and kill her that very moment. What is less amusing than a human wailing about their impending death?

With a shrug of my shoulders, I reached for my notebook and the pen I kept pressed in between the locked pages. I looked at the numbers above the head of the woman typing into the phone and smiled, noting down her name.

Fifty seven years – not bad.

Having written her name I hung the note back by my hip and scratched my stomach. I floated down onto the doctor's desk, sniffing at the coffee in a white mug – I gagged for the smell was not as pleasing as human beings made it out to be – and waited for the monotonous beep signalling the phone has been dropped.

And it soon came, accompanied by the scraping of the secretary's chair as she stood with wide, empty eyes, the phone swinging from the cord, occasionally tapping the wooden desk.

I sniffed the air again in my quest to find more human food, grinning when I recognised the familiar of smell chocolaty goodness. Stalking over to one of the drawers and pulling open the first shelf, I grinned when I saw the chocolate bar sitting atop a dozen messy files, not wasting a second before opening it and taking a huge bite.

Kevin rubbed his eyes before opening them and frowning, noticing a draw sliding open. A chocolate bar rose to the air before opening itself. He jumped, pointing at it comically. "Uh, can anybody see this right now?"

He didn't get an answer.

Before Dr Richards could turn to him the secretary threw her arms around her neck, her right hand reaching into her pocket and pulling out the nail file. The doctor struggled against her captor only for a short moment, her eyes widening before the secretary outstretched her arm and with seemingly inhuman force drove the file into the woman's chest.

The victim froze, giving two last violent shakes and coughing and when the secretary let go of her hold on her, she fell into a limp heap on the ground.

Kevin screamed in a voice of a child, stumbling back from shock and tripping over a chair which sent him falling to the floor on his backside in the process. Refusing to look at the dead body to his side he scrambled to his feet, racing towards the door.

But before he could reach the doorway and run out into the corridor yelling for help, the secretary was on his heels, pulling him back by the back of his lab coat, staining the collar with fresh blood. Kevin struggled against the grip, turning around so he had a better chance of fighting back.

He managed to get a couple of decent punches in by the time the woman wrapped her fingers around a fistful of his hair and tugging back, the young man crying out in pain. She pressed the file against his pale skin and with one powerful swing of her arm she sliced it across his neck.

Kevin gasped, choking out a garbled cry for help before he fell to his knees and then face first on the ground. He turned, momentarily attempting to apply pressure to his neck to try and stop the bleeding but his body soon started choking, unable to handle the tremors that shook his limbs. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he stilled, releasing his last breath.

I yawned, finishing the chocolate bar and licking my lips as I threw the wrapper over my shoulder. I picked up Anna's scan and the paper with her signature, cocking my head at the unfamiliar greyscale images. These medical machines were so strange. How could they place a human into one of them and be able to see the inside of their bodies and let alone make sense of these abstract spots? Shrugging, I ripped the two into fingernail sized shreds, dropping the rain of paper into the pooling blood around the two bodies.

The secretary straightened, her eyes dazed. The blood from Kevin enveloped her left blue high heeled shoe, the two colours clashing. She raised the red covered file to her own neck, her face splattered with blood, and without as much as one last intake of air she slit her own throat.

.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. I was – and still am – in a shit state of health but I will try to update more often (seriously, three chapters a week should be minimum, what am I even doing).**


	26. Compulsion

_(...neither for the carving of one of her forms on a porous stone; or for the offerings at the altar.)_

_._

Beyond woke slowly, letting his eyes adjust to the darkened room. The alarm clock beeped and he jumped to the desk, quickly yanking the plug out of its socket before the noise could wake Anna up.

He almost groaned when he realised it was Monday morning and thus he would have to return to the crime scene of the third murder, and a part of him pained to leave Anna alone behind him.

He had spent the entire weekend, not wandering more than a few feet away from her. He would have even joined her in the bath if she didn't kick him in any man's most prized possession and shut the door in his face.

Thoughts in Beyond's mind returned to Friday night and he frowned, remembering his 'confession' to Anna. He thought – _hoped_, even – that voicing his feelings would help clear them up in his head. But it didn't. If anything, he was more confused than before – especially when Anna didn't seem to acknowledge that he had said anything at all.

Of course he didn't expect her to start confessing her undying love for him – he wasn't sure either of them knew what love was – but the lack of response perplexed and annoyed him. A part of him demanded something in return – a gesture, a sign of recognition, even complete rejection if that was her preferred response but no, she did not do either of those things.

Still, he lay back down on the bed even if he knew he was due to start getting ready in only a few short minutes. Beside him Anna groaned in her sleep, muttering under her breath and turned to lie on her back, her hand falling over Beyond's neck.

Her eyebrows were furrowed in deep thought again and her fingers were curled into fists and she sweat heavily, tossing and turning in the bed constantly as if experiencing a troubling dream. Not exactly a nightmare, but images stressing enough for the body to exhibit such reactions.

He pressed the back of his hand to Anna's forehead and frowned. She was running a fever again. Luckily the last few days were near uneventful: no more incidents, but they were replaced by a constant running fever and fatigue. Beyond's eyes flickered to above her head and he released a heavy sigh, chewing on his bottom lip.

As steadily as a clock: one digit down a day.

Truth to be told, he could have easily calculated the exact day of her death, and even with the dropping numbers her lifespan have only decreased by half a dozen years at most.

He knew that she would not have lived perhaps as long as she expected. Anna Nixon was never fated – if it was fate to begin with – to die an old woman. He could see her death just as he could see the death of every other person he passed. But the dropping numbers were not any less of a mystery and a cause of irritation.

"If only I could see the death of the world," Beyond murmured, brushing Anna's cheek, the girl leaning into the hand as the tension in her face lessened. He shook his head, forcing himself to pull away and focus on the task ahead.

Or a certain FBI agent, to be more precise.

"Naomi Misora. Naomi Misora." The thought of another day of manipulating a person who was considered by society and themselves to have a great mind brought a satisfying feeling of pleasure to him and with a smile Beyond sat up, resting on his elbows as the light drifting through the slightly parted curtains touched the tip of his nose. Anna's hand fell from his neck to his torso, where her fingers entangled themselves in the fabric. "L's hands. L's eyes. L's shield." He chuckled, before it transformed into a loud laughter, the girl shifting beside him. "_Ah, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha_! No, that's not right.

"What do you think my dear?" He asked Anna, the girl offering no response as her chest fell and rose evenly. "You're right; I should laugh more like this… _Kya ha ha ha ha ha ha ha_! Yes, that is better.

"_Kya ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha._

"_Kya ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha."_

Laughing wildly, Beyond summoned the strength to get out of the bed, turning only to wrap the blanket over Anna's head like a protective shield. He continued laughing as he walked towards the bathroom with a bounce to his step, squinting against the harsh light when he flicked on the switch.

That weekend he had laughed more than he laughed or even smiled in a long while, and it was a strange occurrence for he had laughed out of genuine content, a feeling that was still foreign in his gut and only present when Anna was nearby and physically, not just in his thoughts.

But this Monday morning's laughter was unnatural - a harsh, cruel and phony laugh. Just another task he had to perform. "Hmmm...mmmm...hmmm..._Huh huh huh huh_... no, _hee hee hee_?" He stuck his head out of the room and called towards Anna. "Some suggestions would be nice!" When yet again he received no response he rolled his eyes and returned to the bathroom, washing his face with cold water. "I could go with _ho ho ho ho_, but that's a little too jolly...anyway.

Before their meeting at the second murder scene, Naomi Misora proved herself to be quiet good. He wished he could give the female agent another test but not only was it not necessary, she without a doubt would be expecting it which would ruin the fun of the surprise.

And, he remembered with discontent, he had some errands to run before he could meet her.

"Oh, Misora - you are pretty good," he said through a mouthful of a pink towel. "A shame to waste someone like you in the FBI."

But then again, she was nothing but L's servant and even if he had decided on a more vicious attack that killed her, there would have been dozens of replacements from the FBI and the CIA and the NSA – even the Secret Service.

That would have been rather troublesome.

No, not troublesome; time wasting.

Naomi Misora, L's hand and all, was much more satisfactory than all those organisations put together.

He remembered the numbers above the woman's head – she still had a good number of years before she died. No doubt she will prove herself over and over again. Live a long _happy_ life, with children and grandchildren swarming around her like flies, basking in the fruits of her work.

And yet such a _wonderful mind_ is still prone to manipulation.

How fun. He could hardly resist leaving the apartment right at that very moment.

When she'll find the last clue at the third scene, the real game begins. She will try to prevent the fourth murder and save the final victim Beyond Birthday had selected.

"...L." The competition between L and B. L and B's puzzle. Beyond changed into a white baggy shirt and an oversized pair of light blue jeans. "If L's a genius then B's an extreme genius. If L's a freak, then B's an extreme freak. Now it's time to get ready. There are things I must do before B can surpass L. _Henh henh henh henh!"_

The thought of surpassing L, of finally _beating_ L, made him laugh without forcing himself to and yet again, his voice rang through the otherwise deathly silent apartment in a tone that would put a shinigami's laughter to shame.

With his shoulders still shaking, he grinned and faced the mirror. Opening the cabinet he grabbed Anna's hairbrush and brushed his hair, sweeping it over his eyes and to the side, before beginning to apply the make-up under his eyes. When he was done he hunched his shoulders and brought a finger to his lips.

The reflection of himself in the mirror.

Always himself.

Or perhaps not. He cocked his head to the side, his hair falling over his eyes and even if just for a flash of a second, it was not him that stared back but L.

No – a _better_ version of L.

A better copy.

His eyes flickered to above his head and he bit his thumbnail. As always, he could not see his own time of death. No more than he could see the death of the world.

Only the pests occupying this earth.

"Mmm… _mm-hmm-hmm-hmm_..._mm, mm, mm_... _Zo zozo zo_...no, that's a horrible laugh, even Anna would agree... _henh henh henh_."

He was ready now. He cracked his neck.

His pocketknife, a pair of leather gloves, a baseball cap – all messily thrown inside a duffel bag. He left Anna's wallet untouched, deciding to use the money from his other sources that morning for Anna was not supposed to know what he purchased - and even though there was doubt she would check, he couldn't risk the slightest chance of her finding out. Beyond didn't offer the girl as much as a second glance as he moved through the distastefully messy apartment to find his shoes – perhaps he was afraid of distraction she would provide – before packing away two jars of strawberry jam.

He cracked his neck again, his hand on the door handle. A twitch of his head urged him to give the girl in the bed one last look but he held his breath, unlocking the door and shutting it with a loud thud behind him, hurriedly locking it and stalking down the stairs, stepping around a yawning cat lounging in the yard.

Beyond was half way down the street before the blanket over Anna's head was pulled away, her eyes staring at the door he exited through with a frown. She rolled her eyes and scoffed, kicking herself free from the bedding and swinging her legs over the edge.

"Over confidant bastard," she muttered, her plans of getting up with dignity foiled when she tripped over her own pair of shoes and fell face flat onto the floor.

She groaned, getting to her knees and rubbing her elbows where she tried to soften her fall unsuccessfully. Anna blew a strand of hair away from her eyes and stood, patting her pyjama shorts from imaginary dust.

"Right," she rubbed her hands together and stalked towards the kitchen, set quiet contently on strawberry jam on toast for breakfast. "Let's get to work."

.

* * *

.

Anna pressed her fingers against the brick wall, peeking over the edge on the tip of her toes. A tall and lean black haired woman was leaning against the wall by the gate of the entrance to the townhouse where the third victim has lived. She looked tough - perhaps due to the leather jacket, black skinny jeans and the combat boots - and undeniably attractive.

Naomi Misora had arrived there half an hour ago exactly – Anna had barely enough time to hide behind the corner for the investigator had appeared out of nowhere – and was close to wearing a hole in the pavement. She had rested a few minutes tops, the rest of the time spent impatiently pacing in front of the gate for the half hour she was there, occasionally tapping the silver watch on her wrists and looking to either side of the road with an annoyed expression of her face.

Anna had recognised her from the photos from newspapers and the news reports and immediately was hit with the same feeling of jealousy when she saw her in real life.

How can someone so pretty be an FBI agent?

She pouted, ducking behind the fence when Naomi looked her way, pretending to tie her shoelace. She wore a dress – although black – and a sunhat, accompanied by a pink cardigan she received as a present but never wore and a pair of chunky black platform boots that could be traced to a rather embarrassing punk phase in her freshman year of high school. Basically, she went out of her way to look nothing like her natural self, lining her eyes and her lips heavily with make-up, curling her hair so her shoulders were enveloped in a frizzy and puffy blanket of waves.

"Dammit, where the hell is he?" Naomi's voice carried, and Anna heard every word clearly, her cover no more than ten metres away. She carefully rested against the wall, holding her hat to her head so it wouldn't blow away in the wind and listened intently.

Anna was wrong however, for Naomi hadn't arrived there only at two in the afternoon. She had come to the third crime scene early in the morning, deciding to give herself a head start. She had explored the entire house, not just the bedroom and after five hours she had exhausted everything in the apartment and was rather bored. Annoyed that she couldn't figure anything out without the eccentric investigator's presence, she was beginning to feel extremely frustrated. So she decided to walk a lap around the house to inhale some fresh air for she knew she will need patience to deal with Ryuzaki again.

And he was late.

_What a surprise._

Her phone rang in her bag, the ringtone echoing in the empty street. She answered quickly, assuming it was L but the voice that drifted through the device was one belonging to Raye Penber, her boyfriend and co-worker. "Hello? Raye?"

Anna raised an eyebrow, a thumb rising to her lips. Who the hell was Raye? A friend?

"Oh thanks." Naomi sounded relieved. "So?" A moment of silence before Naomi spoke again, though her voice was not surprised despite the questioning tone. "So he's unlicensed?"

Anna frowned, her eyes flying to the wall, wishing she could see through it at the expression on Naomi's face. She had a feeling the woman was talking about Beyond, but why would she be talking about him to somebody who wasn't L? Did she ask for a friend to do a background search?

"Oh. He speaks Japanese like a native, so I thought he might be from there… so it's a fake name."

Anna barked out a laugh, her hands flying to her mouth. Naomi had _no idea_ about the depth of the web of lies that was Beyond Birthday's existence.

Naomi didn't seem to hear her, but when she next spoke she sounded annoyed. "You promised not to ask… I haven't thought about it yet... Don't. I know what you're going to say, so don't say it… I don't have the time. I'll call again."

A beep signalled that Naomi Misora had hung up and Anna cursed, not having heard much of the conversation due to her temporary amusement. Even if it sounded like a personal call, she still could have missed something important.

The street was deathly quiet and for a moment Anna didn't dare to peak over the wall in case Naomi was looking in her direction. Maybe she had left back into the building? Not hearing any footsteps, Anna released a sigh of relief and rising to her feet she risked a look.

With a feminine war-cry, Naomi swung herself over the wall and landed in a crouching position in front of Anna, straightening up with her legs aligned with her shoulders, her hands on her hips and her long hair dancing in the wind as she narrowed her eyes.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded.

Anna jumped yelping, her hands to her chest, genuinely frightened.

She froze, her mind running blank even after she had registered the question.

She didn't consider the possibility of being caught.

_Why_ didn't she consider that possibility?

Dammit, what would Beyond do in this situation?

No, wait – stupid thought.

He just would have bluffed his way through as if he's in a play, with a target to annoy Anna as much as possible because apparently he enjoyed when other people suffered. The more she was embarrassed, the wider was his smile, and the very memories of the pair with Kate made Anna shiver in horror.

In another life he would have made a great actor, if he wasn't such a sadist.

Wait.

…!

Anna grinned, straightening up and saluting the FBI agent, her teeth glinting in the sunlight. Much to her internal chagrin the woman still towered over the medical student, a frown clouding her features.

"That was rather impressive what you just did! Capoeira, right? I have seen a couple of videos but it looks so much more impressive in real life!"

Naomi sweat-dropped and groaned internally at the painfully cheerful expression on the girl's face. She seemed young, barely and adult and the amount of make up on her face made her look like a child that has sabotaged her mother's make-up drawer.

"You shouldn't be here," she glared at the younger girl, not having the time or the patience for the theatrics. One insane person was enough and the one assigned to her was not even there yet. "This is a crime scene. You're not allowed to be here."

"Oh?" Anna raised an eyebrow, a smile tugging at her lips. "Well you speak as if you're a detective or something."

Misora's eyebrow twitched. "I _am_ a homicide investigator with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. And you are not allowed to be here unless you live in the building – highly unlikely for you were hovering by this wall before I even arrived and your photo is not in the reports of the neighbour witnesses, all of which have given statements. If you don't leave I will have to remove you by force."

"Is that so?" Anna didn't deny to herself that this was rather fun and her stomach flipped happily at the thought. Or maybe it was just the adrenaline. "Where's your badge then?"

The FBI agent froze, her jaw tense and her hands clenching into fists.

The nerve of this kid!

Of course, it was a perfectly reasonable demand. After all, all law enforcement officers were required to show their badges if they acted out with the authority provided to them by the state. But Naomi Misora was on suspension. She didn't have her gun or her badge and to the knowledge of her department she was on an 'extended holiday'.

Dammit. Just her luck.

Anna made a show of grinning wryly and sticking her nose in the air. "Well?"

Naomi sighed, not in the mood for what she expected to happen. "Look, what do you want?"

"I am a journalist," Anna blurted out. "If you let me take photos of the crime scene for my article I could pay you a handsome price."

Great. She was one of them.

Naomi was aware of the latest internet phenomenon: online journalism. Much to the law enforcement organisation's irritation, those particular journalists often worked outside the traditional press and were a nuisance for not only did they trespass on the murder scenes and lied and tricked their way into them, they also often ran scandalising articles with unfortunately eye catching headlines that were just as case destroying as they were popular.

People hated it, and thought it ridiculous but they still eagerly read the online articles.

Misora scanned Anna with distaste, crossing her arms and tapping her fingers impatiently. "You are aiming above your head, kid, you are trying to buy an FBI agent. If you don't leave, I will call for backup and I bet my colleagues will be eager to take a sample of that pretty hair of yours and see how many crime scenes you have contaminated. Should I remind you how many years you can get for obstructing justice?"

She was bluffing of course – she didn't even know the name of the journalist so she had no idea how many articles she had written but her words seemed to have the desired effect. The short female frowned, an annoyed expression on her face.

Anna saw her chance and she took it. With one last mock glare she turned on her heel with a huff, and stalked off towards the opposite direction to the one Naomi Misora had arrived from, flicking her hair over her shoulder.

She didn't even turn around to see if the FBI agent was following, her heart pounding in her chest as the gravity of the situation dawned on her. She kept walking after she had turned a dozen corners, her heartbeat in her ears and her head beginning to ring, a familiar sick feeling in her stomach.

What the hell was she thinking? She crossed her arms and held her midsection as she ran towards the nearest bust stop, avoiding the Glass Station like the plague after what happened the last time she was there.

She wanted to be home. In the comfort of her blankets and a two minute reach towards the bathroom. She wanted to sleep, having been plagued by nightmares that didn't enter her mind again until that moment.

She also wanted to wait for Beyond to get back and throw her arms around him the moment he steps through the door and not let go of her hold for a long while.

Anna wasn't sure where that last thought came from, but it was such a raw and comforting feeling she didn't object to it. She welcomed it.

It calmed her and the stress lessened and she happily replaced every thought of the intimidating Naomi Misora with the very man the FBI agent in question was hunting.

Beyond Birthday.

She never thought she would be glad to hear his name.

.

* * *

.

Beyond held his gaze on Anna's back as she turned the corner. He rolled his eyes and shook his head, a laugh hitching at the back of his throat.

What was she attempting to accomplish?

She was a bad liar and a terrible improviser and she expected to fool an FBI agent?

Why was she even _talking _to her?

He laughed as he exited his hiding place, adjusting the strap of his bag over his shoulder, looking for a convenient place to conceal it where his things could remain untouched until he could retrieve it when needed. Shrugging his shoulders, he headed for the Glass Station, deciding to make use of one of their lockers.

Could it be possible that Anna was jealous?

The very thought made him burst out laughing, making his passers-by jump.

Beyond finally reached the townhouse at just past three o'clock.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Misora," he said, not appearing the least bit guilty about showing up an hour late."

Naomi, having retreated to the inside of the crime scene after her exchange with the slightly insane appearing journalist struggled to keep sarcasm from her voice. "Don't worry, I wasn't waiting. I started without you."

"I see."

.

* * *

**A/N: I was going to post this earlier but there were issues – as you know – with this website so I had to wait it through and then I got distracted. (Also, you people are incredibly sweet so thank you. I am feeling better.)**


	27. Home

_(For she revels in the anguished cries of the mortal women when the widow's son does not return from war.)_

.

Anna wrapped the towel around herself and wiped the steam from the mirror in three thick lines. A pair of brown, bloodshot eyes stared back at her. She sighed, resting on the sink with both of her hands, knuckles white.

"Deep breaths," she reminded herself, biting her lip as she ignored the high pitched buzzing in her ears. But no matter how much she tried, her heart was racing at the speed of what felt like a thousand beats per minute. No longer individual thuds but a steady, monotonous hum.

She looked down at the sink, swallowing the lump at the back of her throat.

A single drop of red fell from above, clashing with the white fixture. Anna frowned, tilting her head. Another drop fell, just to the side. She looked up at the mirror, her eyes trained immediately on the thin trail flowing from her nose. She pulled a disgusted face, wiping it away.

More blood fell.

Anna groaned and with a roll of her eyes wiped her hand on the towel. Reaching for a handful of tissues she stuffed the roll into her nose, resting again on the sink when for a moment her vision clouded.

"What did I do to deserve this?"

A knock sounded at the door.

It startled Anna. Her head whipped towards it and her hand slipped from the wet porcelain surface, the girl managing to catch herself mid-fall milliseconds before her head could connect with the cabinet.

She stopped breathing, listening with wide eyes.

The second set of knocks brought her out of her trance.

"Just a minute," she called to the unexpected visitor, cursing under her breath as she threw on the first clothes she came in contact with and rushed towards the door where she allowed herself to catch her breath with her head rested against the cool surface. "Who is it?"

"It's me, Mrs Walker. Open the door, dear."

Anna fumbled with the lock and threw the door open, frightening the old woman in her haste.

Mrs Walker's eyes immediately focused on her nose. "Why, sweetheart, are you alright?"

"Yes, yes," Anna nodded hurriedly, stepping outside and closing the door behind her. She shivered, crossing her arms, her weight shifting from one bare foot to another. "It's just a small case of a nose bleed – it will go away in no time. What was it you needed? Is the television not working again?"

Pink stained the landlady's cheeks. "No, nothing of the sort – the postman left this at my door and it's addressed to you."

She produced a large, tangerine coloured envelope from behind her back and thrust it in front of Anna's face, the girl taking it from her grasp with a raised eyebrow.

"Well I'll be going now," Mrs Walker announced, her hands clasped behind her back. She has reached the stairs by the time Anna stopped staring at the envelope and shook her head, yelling a shaky 'thank you' towards the woman. She waved the girl off with a smile, her head disappearing below.

Anna stared at the envelope, weighing the contents on her palm. On the back, in an elegant calligraphy, her name and address glared back.

"Hmm," she frowned, flicking from one side of the letter to the next. "No return address."

"Well go ahead, open it."

Anna screamed, jumping a foot in the air. Beyond tilted his head before bursting out laughing. The girl clutched the envelope to her chest, glaring.

"What the hell?" she demanded, the water from her wet hair dripping onto her arms. Beyond chuckled, gripping Anna by the shoulders and pushing her back into her apartment.

"What's wrong with your nose?" he asked, shutting the door behind him and leaning into Anna's face to yank out the tissues. He did so before Anna could react and she yelped, separating their faces with the envelope. The man in front of her only rolled his eyes, pulling it out of her grasp and walked around her, Anna gaping after him.

Then she shook her head, gritting her jaw and jumped to follow Beyond as he marched over to the bathroom and threw the bloody tissues into the toilet with a curious expression on his face.

Then he shrugged out of his coat, turned on the television to the news channel and began to tidy up the house, all the while with Anna dancing around him and trying to get her envelope back.

"Dude, it's mine – it _literally_ has my name on it! _Give it back!_"

Beyond grinned, turning to face her and hiding the envelope behind his back. "Not if you give me a kiss first."

Anna gagged mockingly, sticking her tongue out. "Yeah right, you wish."

He frowned, revealing the letter. "Fine."

The brunette grabbed it from him with a victorious yell – even though there was nothing really to be victorious about – and took a few steps back, as if she expected Beyond to try and take it away from her again. She ripped it open eagerly, the smile immediately disappearing when her eyes finally scanned the neat paragraphs written in an elegant, blue script.

"Great," she groaned. "It's from my grandmother."

Beyond's ears perked up and he moved around her, resting his head on her shoulder. Anna shrugged, attempting to shake him off but he didn't react, squinting at the text. "What is so bad about that?"

Anna glared at the side of his face, folding up the letter and stuffing it back into the envelope. "She's so old fashioned. Like, _old_, old fashioned. She hates me for choosing medicine and always writes me these stupid letters to try and talk me out of it. She's the believer of a mug of tea over a pill." She laughed, her eyes unfocused. "I wish I was there to witness uncle Sam announce that he's studying medicine in one of the top colleges in the country. Apparently she almost had a heart attack."

Beyond hummed. "Now that you mention tea…" He left her side in an instant, heading towards the kitchen, licking his lips and rubbing his palms together. "Do you want any?" he called over his shoulder.

"No!" Anna hollered, Beyond whirling around with wide eyes. She was reminded of how he drinks coffee and couldn't stop herself from cringing. She blushed in embarrassment, walking over to her desk with her hair covering her face so she could stuff the letter from her grandmother in a random draw. "I mean no, thank you."

Beyond shrugged unaffectedly, his arms already grasping the handle of the kitchen cupboard. "Suit yourself."

Anna winced, tasting the sugar in her mouth just from the thought of the drink. She shivered, shaking the disgust from her shoulders. "So much sugar…"

.

* * *

.

"Anna!" Beyond roughly shook her shoulders to no avail.

Dammit.

He knew this would happen again, sooner or later.

A single glance at the numbers above Anna's head showed that they were not dropping like before. The glowing red numerical digits flickered occasionally, floating in a messy pile, but didn't lower.

However the revelation of this shaken stability didn't reduce the gravity of the situation. Anna was violently shaking on the bed, her throat convulsing with soundless screams, her limbs flying as they fought an imperceptible enemy.

"No," she released a garbled scream, scratching at Beyond's hold on her, the man wincing when her nails drew blood. "Let me out."

Beyond winced, shaking her again like a limp doll. "Wake up, Anna, you're having a nightmare!"

Her response was a high pitched scream that shook the walls.

"_No," Anna sobbed, banging against the dark cage around her. "Let me out!"_

_She was buried alive._

_Well, in truth, she wasn't sure. Darkness surrounded her with not a single source of light and she could feel the air lessening with every breath she took. Anna couldn't extend her arms without coming into contact with a scathed wooden surface, in every direction and no matter how much she kicked or scream she couldn't break out from her prison. The reward for her struggles was a mere cloud of dust that choked her, coated her lungs and burned her eyes._

_Then suddenly light blinded her, and she squinted through the harsh rays of sunlight, her throat hungrily inhaling the fresh air._

_She sighed in relief, only for the illusion of freedom to break and for horror to crash around her as several pairs of gloved hands strapped her down with withering rope, the restraints appearing as if they would snap at as much as an ounce of pressure but they didn't it. The bonds rubbed her bare forearms raw as she struggled against them. Her arms were tied behind her back and the offending fingers only left once Anna was wrapped in the rope like a mummy._

_She glared up at the sky through a coffin sized opening, not missing the fact she was in a hole at least six feet deep. _

_A small head popped into view from above. A lone figure with a ski mask over his face and a shovel rested on his shoulder._

_Even though his face was covered, she could _feel_ him smiling._

_If the attack could have reached him, she would have spat in his face._

_With a graceful swing of his legs, the masked man landed into the hole beside Anna, resting in a crouch by her legs. Anna aimed a kick at his neck but it was shot down as if it was nothing more than a fly buzzing around his head._

_He laughed, the cruel sound making the hair stand on Anna's neck. She spat at him a range of curses that first came to her head but he only cackled harder, scratching the back of his neck._

_The man reached over to the bottom of the clothing covering his face and pulled the mask over his head, freeing a mess of black hair that brushed his shoulders and stuck out like spikes of an angry hedgehog._

"_Such a fragile little thing," he mused, his dark eyes scanning her wounds. "So easily broken."_

"_What the hell are you doing, Beyond?" Anna demanded, attempting to sit up but failing. She winced when the back of her neck hit the cool wood underneath her, quickly recovering and setting the black haired man at her feet with a death glare, her lips pulled back in a sneer. _"_Let go of me right, now!"_

_Beyond was in front of her in seconds, his face inches away. He pressed a cool blade against her neck, the knife piercing her skin when she visibly gulped. He bared his teeth, blood dripping from the corners of his lips._

"_Remember what I told you if you disobeyed me?"_

"_Yes."_

_He smiled, cocking his head to the side. "And what did I say?"_

_The girl didn't blink, afraid that the man over her would slit her throat if she did as much as move an eyelid. "You said you would kill me."_

"_That's right, and I will. For I am a man who keeps his promises."_

_And in a blink of an eye, he was gone._

_Anna screamed only to swallow a mouthful of dirt. She choked, attempting to sit up but was crushed under her body weight in dirt. All she could hear was the sound of a shovel digging into the ground and her own laboured breathing. She screamed again, gasping for air, her heartbeat pounding in her ears._

"_Beyond!"_

When a small trail of blood leaked from her nose, tickling her top lip and causing Anna to unconsciously sneeze, was when Beyond had enough.

He let go of her and straightened up into an angry stance, and with a foot on either side of her torso he roared her name.

Anna jumped awake with a gasp, groaning when her forehead connected with Beyond's knee as she hurried to sit up. She caught her breath slowly, swallowing the lump in her throat and shaking her head in an attempt to rid her mind of the nightmare.

Beyond sighed in relief, crouching over Anna with a soft smile on his face. "It's alright," he said, his hand reaching for her face, and gently stroked her cheek. "Everything's alright now, isn't it? There's no reason to fear your dreams."

When the brunette responded with a scream, scrambling back to the point she fell out of bed and continuing to crawl away from him, Beyond frowned, slowly following her.

"What's wrong?"

Anna shook her head, crying out when her back painfully hit the wall. She yelled at Beyond not to come any closer and he obeyed the command, although unwillingly, pausing in his step as the girl roughly wiped the tears from her eyes and when the man in front of her tried to call her name, she clasped her palms over her ears, burying her head in her knees.

"Anna?"

Beyond approached her carefully, his palms outstretched to show he wasn't going to hurt her.

"No," the girl protested in a sob, her voice breaking. "Please."

He ignored her, advancing until he was close enough to wrap his arms around her. He tried to grip her arms but she jumped, eyes wide in terror and her attempted punch narrowly missed his gut. He wrapped his hands around her wrists, wincing when her legs kicked at him with rather surprising strength.

"Anna!"

This time her eyes shot open, constricted pupils staring at him like a deer caught in headlights. "You said you will hurt me," she croaked, pulling at the grip he had on his arms.

"That was then," he spoke slowly, as if talking to a child. "This is me now. I promised you before that I will not let any harm come to you, did, I not?"

Anna swallowed, blinking tears away that pulled in the corners of her eyes, threatening to spill. "But you just said-"

"Whatever it was I said, it was a dream, Anna," Beyond bellowed. She stopped talking immediately, lowering her head. "This is not a dream."

She gulped, nodding, before she clumsily wrapped her arms around him, burying her head in his neck. She breathed out heavily, biting the collar of his shirt. "You promise?" she mumbled through a mouthful of fabric.

Beyond, held her in a tight grip, rocking her gently. "I promise." A small smile pulled at his lips and he let a chuckle escape his throat. "I feel like we've been in this situation before."

Anna giggled, the action foreign in her throat. "This does feel rather familiar." She cleared her throat and moved so her chin was resting on his shoulder, frowning into his black hair. "Although it is also rather different, in more than a few circumstances."

The black haired man rolled his eyes, dropping his arms from around her and standing up, Anna's arms immediately flailing and wrapping a tight grip around one of his wrists before he could even turn away.

He raised an eyebrow. "I am only going to get a blanket for you, since you seem intent on resuming your sleep on the ground."

She shook her head, her jaw tense. "Can you promise me another thing?"

Beyond shrugged, nodding. "What is it?"

Anna swallowed, her eyes avoiding his gaze. "Promise me you won't leave?"

He hesitated, a moment too short for Anna to notice. "Of course."

The brunette beamed at him so brightly, it almost pained him to have said those words. He stalked soundlessly to the bed, holding up the blanket with knitted eyebrows before returning to Anna with his feet dragging. He sat against the wall to her left, holding the blanket up behind him like a cape. He opened his arms and Anna crawled into them, resting her head on his shoulder. He wrapped the sheet of fluffy fabric around the both of them, their limbs entangled.

She didn't want him to leave?

He won't.

For now.

Later however… it might present a problem.

.

* * *

**A/N: All I need is to write "Beyond bellowed" and I am sniggering like an idiot. Might be slow at updating within the next few weeks (one week if I kick myself in the behind and stop procrastinating in an ill attempt of avoiding the dooming 'to do' list). So many things to sort out. Ugh. **


	28. First

_(Oizys showers the corpse with gold, closes his eyes with a kiss and envelops all who weep in a comforting embrace.)_

_._

Anna peaked around the door of the bathroom, her hands over her eyes. "Are you, like, decent?"

The man in the room was towel drying his hair, already wearing his jeans but not his shirt. He gave Anna a sideways glance before refocusing on his reflection, resting the towel around shoulders. He pulled at a stubborn strand of hair, huffing when it only landed in a worst place than it was before.

But Beyond couldn't help but smile a little, a memory spinning in his head. "Last time you saw me half-dressed you almost had a heart attack – or at least that's what you described it as. Or something along those lines."

The girl huffed and waved the comment off, flicking her hair over her shoulder with a smile and removing her hands from over her eyes where they folded across her chest. She entered the room, coughing slightly at the thick steam almost bursting the window open.

At least she knew how he liked his showers.

"Why do you wear this?" She asked approaching him, motioning to her own eyes.

Beyond raised an eyebrow giving his reflection a short glance before returning to stare at Anna. The look he gave her was so intense she cleared her throat uncomfortably and walked past him to open the window to let the heat out. He followed her with his eyes, before he refocused on the mirror.

The dark make-up under his eyes was smudged, reaching his jaw where it leaked. He glared slightly at the reflection, taking in a deep breath. "It makes me look like him."

Anna finally pushed the window open with a huff, letting herself rest her hands on the frame. She looked at him over her shoulder, chewing on her lip. "Makes you look like who?"

Beyond ran a hand through his hair, causing it to stand in thick, sharp spikes of strands, partially covering his eyes. "L."

The girl was about to ask why he would want to look like him when she stopped, almost slapping herself for even thinking of the question. _Of course _ he was going to look like L. He was _mocking _ him. L was highly reclusive, mostly for his safety if anything, and she could bet that somebody practically impersonating the detective and drawing as much attention to them as possible in the process irked him. It didn't matter if he knew it or not – though she had little doubt that he didn't – because the mere thought must have made him grit his teeth in anger.

Anna giggled as thought crossed her mind, her eyes on the view she had of the rest of the city half covered by reddening maple tree. "Has Naomi Misora ever been face to face with her current employer?"

Beyond shook his head, "I highly doubt it."

"Well, I suppose after spending so much time with you, her reaction will be hilarious if she ever does meet him. Anyways," she turned and tapped her nose, her lips twitching as she faced him, standing only a few feet away. "I think you look much better without it."

Anna smiled softly, raising her hand towards his face before she could stop herself. With her index finger she trailed one of the thin dark lines downwards and with her thumb she wiped the dark circles under his left eye, all while pushing his hair out of his eyes.

She frowned, when the gesture did nothing but smudge the make-up even more, leaving stains of the black paint on her own fingertips. Beyond chuckled, his hand rising to cover hers when a knock sounded. And then another. What little smile he had on his face, it dropped immediately and he growled, chewing on his lip as Anna dropped her hand and with little more than a glance up at his eyes, left to open the front door.

A loud crash came from the bathroom again and Anna paused in her step, slowly turning to stare at the open room. Shaking her head and rolling her eyes she stalked towards the door and with a twist of a handle she threw it open, not bothering to check who was behind it first.

"Hey, Anna!"

Oh. Jesse.

Sometimes she forgot she had neighbours.

Although she could barely blame herself - with walls as thick as they were in the floor above the ground one, it was rather easy to feel isolated even when the man in front of her was playing ear deafening music at full volume.

Instead of greeting him back, she scanned him from head to toe before her eyes returned to above his head. "Did you get a haircut?"

He grinned, running a hand through his chopped hair that now barely brushed the tips of his ears. "Yeah, figured it needed a change after I realised it was longer than most of the girls' I am friends with."

"It looks nice." Anna shifted on her feet, resting on the door frame. "What was it you wanted?"

"Well remember when you first moved in? We used to hang out watching TV and eat pizza all the time with a couple of beers. We haven't done that since summer started and I thought we could spend a few days together before you have to focus on your second year at that medical school you go to."

What he meant by that, was all those times he backed her into the corner when she least expected it and practically blackmailed her into hanging out with him.

Anna took in a deep breath as she pretended to think it over and could feel Beyond's presence behind her. She was proven right when he emerged into the view of their visitor, rubbing the back of his neck with a thumb in between his teeth.

Jesse grinned. "Oh hello Tom, how are you, man?"

Beyond kept a piercing glare on his face, not even bothering to smile. "Did you need anything?" At least he had managed to throw on a black shirt.

Anna raised an eyebrow, her lips twitching. Apparently he wasn't up for the act today.

The guitarist didn't seem affected. "Well I was wondering if –"

Jesse didn't get to say another word, for Beyond reached around Anna and with a swift motion of his hand shut the door in the man's face. The unwanted visitor stare at the white panel of wood for a few long moments before cursing and stuffing his hands in his pockets, retreating back into his lair.

Cracking his neck and turning on his heels, Beyond slowly stalked towards Anna in a way of a predator cornering its prey. For every step her took towards her, Anna took one back until she yelped when her back met the wall.

She gulped, wishing she could retreat through the wall, eyeing the window to her side ready to jump out through it in case Beyond has changed his mind all of the sudden about not letting any harm come to her. She wouldn't be surprised; the whole day he has been jumping between blissfully relaxed to a fit of rage.

That very morning she was woken up not by the sunlight, but by the sound of a mug shattering as Beyond pitched it at the kitchen wall.

And although he appeared calmer after he came back from spending half the day with the FBI agent he was half solving the case for while leading her around in circles, after noticing that the bookshelf was unorganised instead of tidying it he sent the thin metal frame falling to the ground.

Anna blinked harshly, scratching at the wall behind her with her nails as the man in front of her neared her, fumbling with the pocketknife in his hands. He reached for her, his breath close to her own as he wrapped long, pale fingers around her right upper arm so tightly it took for Anna everything she had not to wince.

She could feel a cold blade rest against her throat, the pressure of the sharpened metal edge cutting into her skin, a single drop of blood leaving a thin trail that ended in a pool of red by her collarbone. Every inch of her body tensed, demanding to flee.

She closed her eyes, if only to recollect herself for a moment before opening them again, staring straight at the messy circles underneath Beyond's eyes. She could have made the comparison to a panda, only he was neither cute nor cuddly and last time she checked those particular animals didn't carry pocketknives everywhere they went. She frowned, her hand twitching to wipe away the running make-up.

Beyond tilted his head to the side, his eyes scanning her face, surprised that she didn't seem frightened of him. With his index finger against her throat he could feel her pulse, as steady as if she was not even awake. She held his gaze evenly, her chest moving calmly.

He readjusted the grip on the knife, biting his lip, the blade pressing a fraction harder against the neck. Anna's breath hitched in her throat and her eyes closed involuntarily as she winced when her shoulders collided with the wall again.

She sighed heavily and Beyond smiled, discarding his knife on the desk where it spun around and clattered to the floor, and he replaced the blade with his lips.

.

* * *

.

Beyond woke in the middle of the night, breathing in deeply only to smell the faint scent of the person lying half way on top of him, both of them wrapped in a secure blanket.

Anna stirred, muttering a string of incoherent words. Beyond held his breath afraid of waking her up but the precautions were unnecessary. The girl simply yawned, turned her head wrapping her hair around her neck in the process, and snugged into Beyond's chest again, her breath evening out. Her legs were pressed against the wall, one of them lightly brushing his knees, while her upper body was sprawled over him, one of her hands wrapped around his upper arm, and the next lost underneath his shoulders.

He shifted and freed one of his hands, reaching towards Anna's head. He held up a thin strand of hair and twisted it around his fingers, squinting at it in the dull light of the street lamp drifting in through the window uncovered by the curtains.

Beyond frowned, letting his hand fall and rest on her back. He didn't even have to strain his neck to look at the calendar to know what day it was.

And a part of him didn't want to, if only to bury the reminder and simply enjoy the peaceful breaths Anna took instead of worrying about what little time he has.

Because he _did _ have very little time.

Tomorrow he will leave yet again to meet L's hand. The only difference between all the previous mornings and the one to follow is that he would not return. He wrapped both of his arms around Anna and brought her closer to him, almost to the point she released a pained moan in her sleep and it felt like their bodies would mould together and become a single being.

Beyond bit his lip, chewing on it nervously. He wasn't looking forward to leaving. He didn't think he had the will in him to leave discreetly enough for Anna not to be awake when he does so, and he acknowledged his selfishness not to leave that very moment because even though he could, he simply did not want to.

His game with L was coming to a close. Only the hierarchy of the chest board remaining, surrounded by guards they had little faith in. Just a couple of moves left, and then he would take L's king, for the piece stood on its own.

He buried his face on the top of Anna's head, willing himself to go to sleep.

He was a child again, hiding under his bed with his hat pulled over his eyes to escape the numbers.

Close your eyes, he reminded himself, because when your eyes are closed, the red glare of the mortality could not be seen. The time stops.

.

* * *

**A/N: You guys with your reviews will be the death of me; you're all so sweet. This is a rather happy chapter isn't it? Happy. Calm. (It's also very bloody short for which I am sorry.)**


	29. Abandonment

_(Most knew her for her acts of cruelty, fewer worshipped her for her lack of judgement, and only the dead recognised her kindness.)_

.

Beyond tilted his head to the side, his make-up underlined eyes partially covered by the hair falling into his vision. Through the black strands he could see Anna's bed, the sheets twisted and the blankets half way to the ground; but the girl herself was missing.

His ears twitched as they picked up the sound of a mug being placed on the kitchen counter and a knife chopping against a wooden board in a steady rhythm. He sniffed, the smell of boiling vegetables and herbs invading his nostrils.

The serial killer's stomach did a happy flip. Yes, he preferred strawberry jam and sugary coffee over everything else but who could refuse a piping hot, home cooked meal?

He grinned, turning on his heel and stalked towards the kitchen area. As Beyond turned the corner, he innocently crossed his arms behind his back, letting himself let out a soft and cheerful whistle.

A whistle that ended immediately once he met the glare Anna was sending towards him. He halted, almost tripping over his own feet and then half considered walking backwards away from the scene in the direction he came from. Anna rolled her eyes, picking up the chopping board and swiping chopped potatoes into the tall pot of boiling water. She reached for a carrot and began to chop it so furiously that the man by the entrance was surprised the blade didn't cut right through the board.

Beyond swung on the back of his heels, frowning at the back of her head. Her long hair was pulled up into a ponytail and the few strands that escaped it irritated him. "Did… Did I do something wrong?"

It _was_ a rather silly question and so he wasn't surprised when the girl by the counter scoffed and almost sliced her fingers off, knuckles white from the tense grip on the knife. What had he_ not_ done wrong?

Anna paused mid-cut and held the knife above the surface, her eyes unfocused and staring past the wall in front of her. Her fingers trailed along the sharp edge of the blade lightly as if fondly stroking nothing more than the skin of another human being. She took in a deep breath and curled her fingers around the metal of the weapon, the grip angry but loose enough not to slice through her palm.

"You know," she spoke up, tilting her head to the side, "at first I was genuinely surprised at the fact you locked the rooms of your – well, I suppose to some extent they are ours for I had a part to play, no matter how small – victims. It is the first sign of a suicide and yet you mutilated the bodies in such a way that the very thought of a suicide would be ridiculous. Thus the action seemed ridiculously pointless. But in the end it is not as complicated to figure out as one would assume. What's the point of making the rooms look locked from the inside if it didn't play a hand in the grand finale?"

Beyond opened his mouth to interrupt but she silenced him with a glare over her shoulder. "I am no detective, Beyond Birthday, but I am not stupid!"

The man in question flinched. Somehow the sound of his full name coming from her in such an angry tone seemed like a death sentence. And from the way he eyed her fondling that blade he might not have been far off. Then her words registered and he frowned, slowly looking up through thin, black strands of his hair.

Keeping his head straight on his shoulders was a chore he didn't submit to.

His lips moved, forming around the words awkwardly. Only a moment later did he realise that he had not actually spoken, and repeated himself out loud. "It has to be done – this is the only way that the case will remain unsolvable. L cannot catch a serial killer when there isn't one out there. He and his little pawn will chase loose ends, grasping at straws of evidence that is not there to be looked for in the first place and the case will be dropped."

Anna swallowed the lump in her throat and to give herself enough time to gather her rushing thoughts she placed the knife back on the board and turned down the gas on the oven, placing a lid over the boiling pot. She sighed, holding her head up so the tears brimming in the corners of her eyes wouldn't fall.

"I hate you so much," she whispered, closing her eyes and gritting her jaw when Beyond chuckled and shifted on his feet, resting against the wall with crossed arms.

"I know," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. A smile attempted to pull the corners of his lips upwards but gave up.

"Don't make fun of me!" Anna yelled, slamming her fist into the counter and whirling around to glare at him. She wasn't wearing an apron to cook in; only a pair of jeans and a grey woollen jumper and she wiped the tears that fell from her eyes with a sleeve, inwardly convincing herself that she was crying because of the onions she had to prepare earlier.

Beyond didn't avoid her eyes instead staring at them head on and shadowing his own emotions behind a mask of indifference. On the inside he was screaming, pounding every hard surface with his fists, pulling at his hair but this was one time that he refused to let his feelings rule him.

Anna growled, wiping loose hair from her face, the strands sticking to her forehead from the steam. "You told me that you chose the victim's names so that it would set off a red flag in L's head. That it would taunt him. But Beyond," she took a small, shaky step towards him, swallowing thickly, "your name is not above the victims' – it is equal to them." She closed her eyes and buried her hands in her face, choking back a sob, her hands muffled by the pale flesh of her fingers. "Beyond Birthday: the fourth and final victim."

Beyond finally looked at her and with a sombre expression on his face he left his resting spot. He approached her and wrapped his arms around her. For a moment Anna was stiff, as if resisting but soon what little anger she had towards him faded and she buried her head in his chest, sniffing, curling her arms around his waist.

"Please," she croaked, speaking through a mouthful of a black shirt. "I know it's selfish of me and I am not even ashamed to admit this, but I do not want you to leave. I don't care about your challenge to L, I don't care about anything – I just want you to stay." She pulled back, wiping her nose with her sleeve again and offering him what she prayed was an intimidating glare, though in truth she looked like a sobbing toddler. "I will not allow you to end this case in your suicide."

Beyond chuckled, rubbing her upper arm in a comforting manner. He hunched until his eyes were level with hers and let his hands travel upwards until they cupped her cheeks.

He held her face in both of his palms, offering her a soft smile. "Did you really expect a happy ending, my dear?"

Instead of answering Anna glared, nodding furiously. Beyond almost laughed, stopping himself at the last second. He inched his face towards hers slowly, waiting for her eyes to flicker close. First he kissed her temple, Anna sighing contently and curling her fingers into the fabric of his shirt. Then he kissed the corner of her lips, his right arm reaching for the thick, rectangular object tucked in the back of his jeans.

Anna's eyes never opened as the blunt edge hit the back of her head, the girl releasing a sudden breath before falling to the floor awkwardly, her head softly bouncing when she hit the slightly warm tiles.

Beyond sighed and let his hands drop to his sides limply, the book falling to the ground with a dull thud. He stood frozen for a long moment, his chest barely moving as he breathed, his fingers curling into a fist and then unclenching repeatedly. Finally he took in a deep breath and squatting down beside Anna's unmoving form he lifted her into his arms.

He carried her to the bed with such mournful silence, he might as well have been carrying a corpse to rest inside of a coffin instead of an unconscious girl to her bed. Beyond laid her down, tucking the blanket tightly around her. As he brushed the hair out of her face, his finger trailing downwards from her temple until it rested on the space above where he first held a knife to her liver, he muttered an apology under his breath.

The lid of the pot shook, the metal edges clanking together as a cloud of steam emerged from the forced gaps, water spurting out and dripping into the cooker, extinguishing the flames.

He left no sign that he was ever there – wiped the fingerprints from every corner. Gathered up his clothes, the things he gave her such as the gloves and the mobile phone, other supplies and even cleared the fridge free of strawberry jam and as he hoisted the heavy bag over his shoulder he spared a moment to reflect that it was quickest time he had cleared the scene. As Beyond's fingers wrapped around the door handle he hesitated, his face inching to the left to give Anna's form one last look before he paused and violently shook his head. He whispered one last apology, swallowing the lump in his throat, and it took him all he had not to slam the door on his way out.

Perhaps people were right. Perhaps goodbyes truly were the hardest.

He couldn't find it in himself to utter one.

.

* * *

.

Firstly, Beyond got rid of the unnecessary items he had acquired during the short stay at Anna's. He removed his fingerprints but any remains of his DNA would not have mattered for nobody would look for it in a waste container of a Chinese restaurant on the other side of town opposite to the crime scene. He almost regretted binning the gloves and the phone but pressed one last kiss to both of the items – breaking the latter into half a dozen pieces of course and eliminating any chances of recovering data from the device.

His meeting with Naomi before their 'stake out' was short and brief and to the point. A few days earlier the investigating duo discovered that the third victim's body has been displayed as a watch. Only the acting _time arrows _themselves were rather insignificant in the bigger picture, for the number 061550 was not the time at all, but the construction approval number for a condominium - a massive complex in the valley, in Pasadena.

There were two potential victims. Naomi noted the woman named Blackberry Brown who lived in condo number 1313. Beyond pointed out the second: a man named Blues-harp Babysplit, who lived alone in condo 404. For a moment they argued, looking for the connection between the room numbers and the significance of the days between the murders before Beyond steered her to the _right_ direction.

"_But remember, Misora. The number of days between the murders. The crossword puzzle reached the police station on July 22__nd__, the first murder happened nine days later on July 31__st__, the second murder four days later on August 13__th__. If the fourth murder is to happen on August 22__nd__ that will be nine days later again. Nine-four-nine-nine and not nine-four-nine-four? Even though nine and four equals thirteen?"_

Well, he didn't really steer her anywhere at all – he simply spat out the speech to play with the agent's self-doubt. It did not matter to him which of the victims Naomi thought would be targeted or on which day, for neither of them was his intended target, and the two suspected targets were at safe houses for the time being.

L's hand was very easy to lead indeed.

Naomi Misora had acquired the gun – of course she did – and seemed confident in catching the killer that very evening. Beyond hid his smile as they parted ways to their assigned rooms, deciding simply to go by same-sex arrangement. He turned around for the last time to offer last minute concern for the FBI agent's safety but she offered him a smile, saying that with the gun and her capoeira skills she is more than equipped to deal with whatever the situation throws at her.

Rue Ryuzaki made a show of bowing and offering to let her be the one who places handcuffs on the killer's wrists.

Once inside Blues-harp Babysplit's home, Beyond locked the door and didn't waste a second in starting his usual pre-kill routine.

The early morning found him lying on a mattress in the bedroom, drenched from head to toe, having showered himself with gasoline, his eyes staring at the first thing the next person will see – most likely Agent Naomi Misora – when they open the door.

And by then it will be too late for her or L to stop him.

He smiled, letting out a harsh and cruel laugh into the stuffy air. "L would lose. B will win. B was the top, and L was the bottom. Hahaha. L will grovel at B's feet." He grinned, his teeth stained with blood from where he had bitten his lip an hour ago. "The copy will surpass the original."

He let nothing, not even a single thread of a lead to what he actually looks like underneath all of his make-up, and after the damage he will inflict it will be impossible to determine what he looked like before. No connection would be made to Wammy's house or his true identity. There will be no solution. He had created a problem that cannot be solved.

He coughed, the dryness of his throat making it harder to breathe but he didn't let himself drink as much as a drop of water. The sunlight drifting though the window reminded him that he was supposed to be burning by now, but cleaning the house from fingerprints took longer than he expected – took longer for a _single_ person to do it as opposed to two people.

Well, that's what he told himself. He wasn't about to admit, at his winning move, that his own slow actions were led by the thought of the girl he has left behind. Irritatingly distracting questions kept jumping to his head.

Anna was unconscious in her apartment and he couldn't help but wonder if she was awake. Perhaps she was crying again or maybe she was running towards the crime-scene-to-be right now – in which case he should really get on with the task at hand – with the intent to give one last attempt at changing his mind, or maybe in the end he had hit her too hard and she was neither awake nor running nor crying and under all those blankets her chest was not moving and her lips were growing blue and cold.

He shook his head and took in a deep breath, refocusing his gaze on the ceiling and forcing all thoughts, irrelevant to that very moment, leave his head. He had done everything according to his plan. Not a single fingerprint will be found at the scene, just like the others. He had turned the thumb lock by hand, nailed a Wara Ningyo doll in the wall in a spot directly opposite the door, broke the sprinkler system, turned off the alarm and even allowed himself a moment to lie down and calm his head.

He held up a rectangular box, hands as calm if they were floating in still water and with a single stroke of his fingers he lit the match.

"L…

"I won."

.

* * *

**A/N: Sometime in the next few days, I will be going over old chapters and changing any really obvious spelling/grammar mistakes. I don't know whether the followers will get an alert but I thought I'd let you know either way not to worry because I am not changing a single detail, just correcting the mistakes (I will try to replace them in one go so it isn't confusing, probably around the time I release the next chapter, which hopefully will be soon because I owe you for this cliffhanger, huh?).**


	30. The Pursuit

_._

_(She is the one to waken the soul from the body, offer them her soft hand and lead them to the crossing of the river Styx.)_

.

Anna woke that morning with a start, falling off the bed head first with the blanket still tightly wrapped around her. She groaned, freeing herself from the soft fabric and cursed, rubbing her forehead to dull the pain. She sighed and rose to her feet, blocking her eyes from the glare of the sun, immediately pulling the curtains shut. Anna rubbed the back of her neck, frowning at the stinging pain in her head, and turned towards her desk.

The alarm clock on the furniture, half covered with a loose sheet of paper read just past nine o'clock. Her eyes widened, and she stared at the device, her teeth gritting in anger. "Son of a bitch!"

Not even bothering to check her appearance, she grabbed the nearest pair of shoes she could reach as well as her wallet and keys and rushed out of the apartment, violently showing past Mr Raymond as he made his way to work.

She yelled an apology over her shoulder, already turning the corner with only a single location in her mind, running towards the closest metro train station, clutching her keys in a fist.

Of course, she could have been running on a pointless pursuit. There was a large possibility that Beyond had falsified the location where he said to have been planning the fourth murder. After all, he managed to hide the identity of the last victim until the very last moment. Anna was only glancing at his work on her laptop at the time, but she wouldn't have put it past him to deceive her in case she wouldn't let him leave.

The moment she was safely inside the right train, her vision swam before her. She groaned, holding her head in her hands and letting herself rest her head on the cool window as she closed her eyes. The sick feeling was back. The ringing in her ears grew louder.

She grit her teeth and weaved her fingers into her hair, pulling, kicking the seat in front of her until her foot numbed.

She couldn't believe that Beyond actually left. He actually left. After he promised more than a couple of times that he wouldn't do this, that he wouldn't leave or hurt her!

"How selfish could he get!?"

She hadn't realised she yelled those words out loud until she opened her eyes and saw an elderly couple glaring at her, having turned around in their seats. Anna awkwardly shifted in her seat and cleared her throat, averting her eyes.

Folding her hands in her lap she chewed on the inside of her cheek, deciding that when she sees him she will give him a black eye for doing this to her.

Screw his quest to win against L.

She was not going to allow him to kill himself.

.

* * *

.

The front door of the condo 404 was unlocked. Naomi Misora, her heart racing with adrenaline and her eyes flaring with anger, held her gun at chest height and rushing through the living room headed straight for the bedrooms, roaring Ryuzaki's name at the top of her lungs.

The first bedroom was empty, as was the second. When she tried the third and final door, it was locked. She pounded on it with her fist, calling Ryuzaki's name but only silence met her. She lowered her gun, took a few steps back and breathing in deeply kicked at the door with a cry but it didn't budge. Neither did it after a second attempt.

She huffed and aimed the gun at the lock. "I'm pulling the trigger!" With a mental countdown to three, she curled her index finger.

Success.

As the lock came clean off, she threw the door open with her shoulder and as it bounced back harshly against the wall she caught it in her hand before it could shut before her again. Her eyes searched for the Wara Ningyo doll through the dark smoke. She found it, nailed to the wall with a plain nail, opposite the door.

In the corner of the room there was a man on fire. His mouth wasn't releasing a single sound but he was flailing his arms around, spinning in endless circles on a mattress between the walls, unable to stand the pain of flames rolling across his skin.

There was no doubt it was Ryuzaki. She could see his unfocused eyes. She pointed the gun at him and called his name, but he didn't reply. She tried to step closer but the heat struck her skin and she jumped back and squinted, her eyes unable to look at him clearly.

A strong smell of gasoline invaded her nose. She threw her hand over her mouth and nose and glanced at the ceiling, glaring at the sprinkler. It wasn't working, and neither was the fire alarm – evidently Ryuzaki had tampered with them.

The fire was spreading throughout the room and soon she had backed into the hallway. Forcing herself not to panic she gave the burning man a single glance through the corner of her eyes before bolting out from the apartment, having seen a fire extinguisher on her way there. Once it was in her arms she ran back and pointed the end of the hose at Ryuzaki, and as she squeezed the handle she could have sworn the ball of fire was glaring at her.

How long did she stand there with her jaw clenched and her arms outstretched in front of her? Could not have been more than ten seconds, but it felt so much longer than that before the fire extinguisher was empty and the fire was out, the white foam beginning to subside.

It might have been the darkness of the room and the smoke clouding her vision but when she focused she saw a black and red charred mess of flesh, nothing _human _ about the body by her feet. It didn't look pretty.

Or alive.

And a part of her believed that if she was to step on him, she would stomp him into dust. After putting down the empty fire extinguisher on the ground she approached him carefully, afraid that any sudden movements would burst him into flames again. She curled her fingers around her gun, the grip almost comforting and empowering, something she hadn't expected since the incident.

The smell of gasoline remained, accompanied by the scent of burning hair and skin. She clasped her hand over her nose again, breathing through a mouthful of her leather jacket's sleeve. She eyed the window, but decided not to open it, not wanting to risk a backdrift while Ryuzaki's body was still in the room.

She looked back at him. He was curled up on his back, deadly still. She knelt down beside him.

"Ryuzaki?" The lack of response made her wonder if he's actually dead. "Ryuzaki!"

"Ah... unh..."

...

"Ryuzaki…"

He was alive, after all.

He was burned all over and needed serious medical treatment immediately, but this came to her as a relief because he was _alive_.

A woman bumped her shoulder on the doorway and Naomi whipped to face her, immediately moving to cover as much of the burned body as she could. The newcomer held her hands clasped in front of her, a wary expression on her face. She must have seen Naomi running past with a gun, heard the gunshot and the fire extinguisher and timidly came to investigate. "D-did something happen?" As she voiced her question she tried to peak past Naomi at the body.

The question made Naomi's eyebrow twitch but she simply identified herself. "FBI," she said. "Call the police, the fire department and an ambulance."

The woman looked surprised but nodded and left immediately, supposedly to do as she was told. Naomi wondered whether she was the thief or the conman L had promised would be close to the scene but figured she could worry about that later.

She turned back to Ryuzaki and slowly took his wrist, wincing because it was still very hot, and checked for a pulse. Uneven and very weak but still there though he could still die in the hospital or on his way there, perhaps even before the ambulance made it to the scene.

But at that moment he was alive.

In which case…

"Rue Ryuzaki," she said, fishing a pair of handcuffs from the back of her jeans and clasping them on his wrist. Her gun was secured in the back of her trousers, safety on. "I arrest you on suspicion of the murders of Believe Bridesmaid, Quarter Queen and Backyard Bottomslash. You do not have the right to remain silent, you do not have the right to an attorney, and you do not have the right to a fair trial."

.

* * *

.

Anna breathed heavily, huffing as she rounded a corner, almost running into a teenager on a skateboard. He cursed at her back and flipped her off before rolling his eyes and continuing skating down the road. She ignored him.

Her chest was pounding, her palms were sweating and her heartbeat was in her ears with deafening thuds that felt like it scratched her skull and reminded her of a ticking time-bomb.

The train trip was no longer than fifteen minutes but it felt like an eternity. And with every passing second her stomach clenched with fear and dread that she was going to be too late.

She choked back the lump in her throat, willing herself to keep hoping that there is still time. She closed her eyes, blinking back tears but the moment she did she tripped. She managed to catch herself on a street lamp, slowing only for a moment. She turned the final corner, her fingers curling into fists and her lips tight, ready to yell out Beyond's name.

She skid to a stop.

Her eyes slowly widened and she stiffened, her breath hitching.

People. People everywhere.

Her vision flashed with blue and red.

Crowd upon crowd of people pushing against each other. Sudden flashes of light as people moved forward, attempting to take photos of the scene. They were yelling and chattering; their voices combined almost drowned out the sound of the police and the ambulance sirens. Anna remembered to breathe, her legs taking her towards the scene in slow, uncertain steps and her hands made it to her forehead.

A police officer brushed past her, heading with a few of fellow officers towards the entrance to the apartment complex through the gate, barking orders to the firemen who were assembling in a line. A civilian pointed towards the window from which a dark cloud of smoke was emitting. The firemen ran into the building in a synchronised jog.

Anna ran a hand through her hair, words failing her. She blinked heavily, rubbing at her eyes. She stood far from the crime scene but her eyes burned as if she was in a room surrounded in fire. She coughed, wincing at the pain in her throat and the ringing in her ears grew even louder until it deafened her.

She looked down at her palm, squinting at the small drops of blood on her skin, and slowly looking up at the building she made up her mind. Anna glared up at the open window, her pace quickening. She roughly brushed past a woman in a black trench coat who yelped out in protest. Anna grit her teeth, fighting through the crowd, occasionally falling down on her knees and advancing in that state. Finally she reached the front and rose to her full height, startling the people beside her. She patted down her knees, offered the offended people in the crowd an awkward smile and turned back to the building.

She froze, the police tape digging into her stomach. A deer caught in headlights. A few yards away from her, stood Naomi Misora.

The FBI agent sighed, running a hand through her hair as the six medical men rolled Ryuzaki's body on a stretcher from behind her and into the ambulance, already in the process of treating his wounds, one of the attending nurses holding an IV bag high above his own head as he hopped into the ambulance along with the body.

Naomi Misora recalled how L, during the phone call a few days previously, had said to her that Rue Ryuzaki worked alone. No accomplices. Almost… _too_ insistent on his deduction. It reminded her how Ryuzaki – no… L had said his name was B, she should call him that – had been too insistant on diverting her attention away from the Wara Ningyo dolls and their roles in the locking of the rooms. She scratched her head, a little surprised that the strange thought of comparison crossed her mind at all as she followed Ryuza- B with her eyes.

She frowned when the suspect was hidden behind two white doors, the ambulance van already driving towards the hospital, the siren blaring through the streets. She felt like her suspect has been taken away from her. A flash of light attracted her attention and she noticed the intrusive crowd of the civillans for the first time, not even bothering to hide the roll of her eyes as she groaned inwardly.

She was beginning to have a headache and she barely finished arresting the serial killer. She had expected the media and public interest but not so quickly and it was already starting to tick her off, her patience wearing thin. She wanted a relatively quiet arrest but it seemed like, as usual, the media and the crowd has appeared at the scene long before the emergency services.

Pinching the bridge of her nose she sighed, her eyes narrowed in a glare when she spied a familiar brunette in the midst of the crowd. Sure, she looked shockingly different, but as little as removing the make-up and switching her clothes was not going to fool someone like Naomi.

Oh. And she looked surprised, maybe even a little scared to see her.

_Good._

"Hey you over there," she called to the journalist, slowly walking towards the younger girl with an intimidating expression and her hands on her hips. "Here to write another article?"

The girl didn't reply. She didn't even seem to _breathe_. She stared at the FBI agent as people on the beach would at an oncoming tsunami. Naomi frowned, her hands dropping to hang by her sides.

The girl took a step back. Naomi tilted her head to the side, a little confused, making a note of the dark circles under her eyes, her messy hair that was falling out from the clumsy ponytail and her flushed cheeks as if she has just ran a marathon. "Hey, have you seen a ghost or something, what's wrong with you?"

Anna took in a deep breath, and then bolted.

Now if Naomi Misora learned anything during her career in law enforcement it was this: innocent people don't run.

And even though as an FBI agent she expects suspects often to flee, it never fails to be rather irritating, especially at the end of an exhausting shift at work.

She gave chase, immediately running after the girl, opening her mouth to call after her but realising she didn't even know her name. So she hollered, "Hey you, journalist!" cringing when half the people present turned to face her. She attempted to get through the crowd but soon lost the girl as the civilians and reporters alike swarmed around her, yelling questions all at the same time, waving microphones in her face. Naomi stepped back behind the police tape, taking in a deep breath, deciding to leave the crime scene and head towards the hospital they were taking B to, awaiting L's call.

She couldn't risk hanging around at the crime scene, no matter how much she wanted to go back into the room to investigate. No doubt soon this place will be swarming with detectives and FBI agents and it would have been difficult to explain her presence when she is supposed to be on leave.

She let the thought of the irritating young journalist flee her head, taking in a calming breath, finally glad that _Rue Ryuzaki, _ the person behind the Wara Ningyo doll murders was finally in custody.

Anna, on the other hand, was anything but calm. Her run has been reduced to an upright crawl, bumping into every single person she passed. When she brushed shoulders with a man in a business suit he turned with a huff to yell at her but stopped when he noticed her shaking form.

She choked, as if to throw up, but nothing came out of her mouth. Yet still her throat burned and her stomach was twisting itself in knots. She tripped over an uneven brick in the pavement, catching herself on a traffic light post. For a second, her vision turned black and when it returned, she saw the passing cars in a blur, as if through a dysfunctional magnifying glass.

A hand shook her, the man in the suit looking around him nervously before lightly shaking her shoulder again. "Hey are you alright?"

Anna groaned, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. She didn't reply; the words haven't even registered. When she felt another pull at her shoulder she yelled out at whoever it was to get away, shoving herself out of their grip.

The suited young man jumped away, holding his hands up in front of him to show he wasn't trying to hurt her. But Anna wasn't paying attention. She was stumbling backwards, ramming into people as she was lifelessly bounced between them like a ragdoll.

The stranger frowned, taking a few steps towards her. "Miss?"

Anna's legs went limp, her eyes rolling to the back of her head, and she fell backwards, bouncing as she hit the pavement as if she was a wooden board. People yelped out of the way and the man rushed towards her, already fiddling with his pockets for his mobile phone.

She was out in an instant.

.

* * *

.

Anna woke in a hospital room with a start, at first closing her eyes against the harsh, fluorescent light glaring at her from every direction. She rose from the bed disorientated, frowning at the light green hospital dress hanging off her shoulders down to her knees. Her head was pounding and when she placed her bare feet on the cold floor she collapsed on her knees, yelling out in pain when her forehead hit the edge of the bed.

She remained in that position for a while, breathing deeply, before she remembered what happened and had figured out where she was.

Next time she tried to stand, she managed to do it slowly and carefully to bring herself to the floor length mirror, half leaning on walls and other furniture in the room. She winced, barely recognising the girl in the reflection. Bags were under her eyes, her skin sickly pale, small traces of blood around her mouth and her hair a messy rat's nest around her shoulders. She looked like a corpse.

Anna frowned, feeling as if she had forgotten something. Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair, scratching the back of her neck with the other.

She looked up suddenly, her hand still tangled in her head. "Beyond."

She wasn't sure if she was running towards the right direction when she left the room, but she reached the reception eventually. She ducked past people and the hospital staff, throwing herself at the reception counter with a hoarse heave, attempting to catch her breath and address the receptionist at the same time.

The African-American female looked up from her desk, her eyebrows, rising to the middle of her forehead. "What?"

Anna held up a finger, taking in a deep breath before releasing it, folding her arms on the wooden counter. "I need you to find a patient by the name of Rue Ryuzaki."

The receptionist rolled her eyes, placing her chin in her palm, her voice not sounding impressed at the loud and demanding tone. "Is that so?"

"Yes! I need to know in which room he is!" Anna anything but screamed.

The woman narrowed her eyes, dropping the polite façade. "I must ask of you not to yell in the hospital, Miss."

Anna ran a hand through her hair in frustration biting down a rude remark. "Look, if there's nobody here by that name. I want you to try Beyond Birthday."

The woman tapped her pen against her cheek. "I'm sorry I can't do that at your request."

Anna groaned. "Oh come on! Look, I know you're busy and everything but how hard can it be to look up a few names? Rue Ryuzaki, and then Beyond Birthday and if neither of those are present, I need you to try Tom McCoy."

The receptionist simply stared, clicking her tongue.

Anna was beginning to grow increasingly frustrated with the lack of cooperation. She looked around the ER, throwing an impatient grin to the confused and annoyed onlookers before turning back to the woman in front of her. She leaned over the desk to yell at the receptionist when the woman slammed a file on her desk to silence the girl, glaring at her through her glasses. "I must ask of you to calm down right now, young girl. Even if there was anyone with the name you're asking I would not tell you because according to your attire you are clearly a patient here and are not supposed to be out of bed without supervision in the first place!"

Anna scoffed, offended and leaned forward to retort again when her name was called from behind her.

"Anna Nixon?"

The addressee whirled around sharply, hesitating when she was faced with a middle aged woman wearing a white lab coat and a tight smile, a tall security guard with crossed arms and a frown a few steps behind her.

Anna swallowed nervously and offered the pair a strained smile, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Yes?"

The security guard tapped his fingers against his forearms with a glare.

A few moments later Anna was back in her room, a different nurse sticking a needle into the back of her hand, hooking it into the IV drip by the bedside. "Now, it's not all that bad, is it?" she asked with a smile.

Anna didn't trust her mouth to respond politely and instead shook her head.

"I can see on your medical file that you had an MRI scan and a few other tests a couple of days ago at the private clinic at the request of your family's doctor. You were never informed of the results so we are chasing them back now if you don't mind staying here until then. You are required to stay here until tomorrow morning anyways, you have quite a bump there. It doesn't hurt too much, does it?"

Another shake of the head.

"You're lucky you collapsed where you did and that the young man was kind enough to call an ambulance and stay with you until it arrived. I'm afraid he couldn't keep your company for any longer and after he gave his statement he left."

Anna shook her hands in front of the nurse, the thin tube entangling itself around her arm. "What do you mean I was lucky?"

The nurse slapped her arms still, annoyed that the young girl was so jumpy. "Stop moving!" Anna did as told, demanding her to answer the question with her eyes. The nurse reached for the pad where she placed it at Anna's feet, beginning to note things down in a script that Anna couldn't read. "Well you fainted just a few blocks away from where that fire happened."

Anna's heart dropped to her stomach. "Fire?"

"Well not much has been said yet, but apparently the fourth victim of the Locked Room Serial Killings was going to be burned. Some FBI agent has gotten to the scene just in time to save their life. Reports say that the FBI has the suspect in custody but his name hasn't been released."

The brunette hummed, rubbing her aching shoulder.

The nurse brought her hand back down to rest on the bed and tapped the plastic cap of the needle at the back of Anna's hand, nodding in satisfaction when the girl winced, and noted the reaction. "Honestly, we are all breathing a sigh of relief that the son of a bitch has finally been caught."

Anna gave her a smile, looked away and cleared her throat uncomfortably, muttering under her breath. "I guess he failed after all."

.

* * *

**A/N: I want to hit my head against the wall and rub salt in the wounds. Writing this was not supposed to be this painful, dammit.**


	31. Nurture

**A/N: You guys give me far too much credit - best parts of this whole story are the few excerpts from the books in some of earlier chapters, people who have read the book can no doubt recognise them. But anyways, I think I will just let you read the story - enjoy!**

* * *

.

_(She keeps safe the coins the dead man's loved one placed on his eyes...)_

.

Naomi took in a deep breath, tapping her fingers against the desk, staring dully at her computer screen.

"_It was a pleasure to work with you, Miss Misora. Thank you."_

She let out a bored groan and buried her head in her crossed arms on her work desk. Her phone rang but she ignored it, sighing heavily. L had pleasure to work _with _her?

Hmph. It appeared that the great detective had a sense of humour after all.

She was still deciding what to do with the nice round sum of money that appeared in her bank account from a company she had never heard of before, moments after L ended his last contact.

B was caught. L had other cases to solve.

And Naomi Misora was back on active duty with the FBI.

Of course her return to work was put off until September and much to her surprise not one person at the FBI uttered a word about her acting independently during the leave of absence. Misora was not popular – for the nickname 'Massacre Misora' was out of spite rather than admiration – at the FBI, but not one of her co-workers could deny that she was good at her job. And her success at catching the culprit behind the Serial Locked Room Killings was like a twisting knife in their already wounded prides.

The incident that resulted in Naomi Misora's leave of absence was buried in the shadow of the shine of her most current success. Not only had she caught a serial killer _alone_, she did it while working under _L._

But one thing still itched at her tongue. L had only called her once after B was arrested, thanking her and briefly explaining to her that B was a candidate to succeed him and that the pressure of that had driven him off track.

Sensing that this might be the last phone call she will ever receive from the detective, she voiced her concerns over a possible accomplice for the last time, only for them to be shot down not even a second after they left her mouth.

L repeated – rather harshly in fact, as if he was annoyed – for her to drop it.

Naomi had to respect L's wishes, even if she continued to gape with her mouth open long after he had hung up.

But she also had to obey her own responsibility as an FBI agent and follow every lead. The case was officially closed, but her conscience wouldn't let her forget the suspiciousness of the girl that she first met sneaking around the outside of the third crime-scene.

She had called every major newspaper press in California and hacked her way through dozens of online websites but she couldn't find the young journalist. Naomi didn't have a name, but no reporter was modest enough not to include a photograph in their article. Naomi had a face, and even drew a half-attempted sketch to remember – not that she needed it as she had an excellent memory – and she still couldn't find the girl who ran from the crime scene.

In the end she gave up, throwing her arms in the air in defeat and treated herself to a pizza and a refreshing bottle of beer, concluding that the girl was one of those disturbed, serial killings' fans. Naomi had more pressing matters in mind than a crazy girl. Like new cases she is supposed to be keeping up to date with, instead of daydreaming and reminiscing about the past.

All of this was only to bury the fact that by continuing her own investigation, Naomi felt like she would be insulting L's abilities, and his trust in her, over such a simple matter as tying up loose ends. Especially when nobody else seemed to care about said loose ends. So she dropped it, before she dug herself into even a deeper hole.

"Naomi?"

The FBI agent sighed, before turning her head to the side, her eyes landing on a pair of black, shiny shoes. They travelled upwards, lingering for a moment on two steaming mugs of coffee, before they met a familiar blue pair of orbs.

She forced herself to sit up, but the smile that crossed her face was genuine. "Hey, Raey," she greeted her boyfriend and a fellow FBI agent, accepting the mug of caffeine he passed to her, their fingers brushing.

"Well," he started, nervously fixing his tie as he placed his own mug on her desk and stole a chair from an absent table to their side. He sat down and gave her a soft smile, his eyes lingering on the ring she wore on one of her slender fingers. "Did you give any more thought to my offer?"

Instead of answering his question, Naomi sat up and flicking her hair over her shoulder offered him a grin. "We should go out tonight, Agent Penber. I'm a little tired of cop food."

Raey Penber nodded so fast, Naomi thought his neck would snap. "Yes, of course!"

.

* * *

.

He had introduced himself as Rue Ryuzaki. The alias was a fitting reward. Perhaps equal to the day he claimed the names of Deneuve and Eraldo Coil before him, in its own way.

A lone figure sat crouched in the middle of a bare room, computer screens providing the only source of light.

His fingers danced across the keyboard so fast it would have been impossible to judge what he wrote without looking at the screen. And yet his words were only visible to one woman.

The entirety of his screen was Anna Nixon's surprised expression as his message had reached her, interrupting the girl in the middle of typing her first essay since starting her second year of medical school. The brunette jumped when her screen had turned black, her eyes narrowing when small letters began appearing even though she had stopped typing.

Anna glared – apparently she didn't like what she read. She seemed to be aware that she was watched too, for she stared directly at the camera as she yelled out a number of obscenities. Then she raised an eyebrow and was suddenly wearing a cocky grin. "If you really are L, aren't you supposed to be solving cases or something?"

Pale, spidery fingers ran across the keyboard.

_I do believe you are right – I must get back to work. Please destroy this device within twenty-four hours._

Anna growled and yelled, "Go, away!" into the screen before shutting it close.

How ungrateful. He did wait a full month after Beyond's arrest to contact her didn't he?

L, his hair casting a dark shadow over his eyes and a thumb picking at him bottom lip hummed, and something resembling a chuckle escaped his throat. "If you say so…"

The world's greatest, and most anonymous detective waited for her to return to writing the essay a few hours later before he struck.

… _I did say 'please'._

He typed five sentences of code into his laptop and five seconds later an electric current ran through Anna's computer. The device shook and Anna yelped, her laptop emitting a small explosion before it stilled, a small puff of smoke rising, the hardware and every single function apart from the camera, fried.

Anna screamed in anger and launched the laptop at the wall.

Her face disappeared the moment her computer connected with the hard surface. Just as his screen went to black before flickering back to a white screen with an elegantly scripted 'W', he cracked his neck and pressed the same key on the keyboard. "Watari, connect me with Mr Dvornikov."

A phone rang almost immediately. L fished a grey mobile phone out from the back of his jeans, answering it immediately.

The voice that drifted through the device was heavily accented in Russian, but spoke English well, perfectly coherently albeit a little sharply. "I assume I am to take the job then, yes?"

"Yes. You are to observe Anna Nixon whenever she leaves home, and to gather information of her actions whether she is at home or in university or anywhere else. I also want you to hack into the systems of her current therapist's office, as well Dr Foveux's files – I want her full psychological analysis file as soon as possible."

"Of course."

"Do be careful however, in your shadowing of this particular subject." He paused to stuff a mouthful of chocolate cake in his mouth, not bothering to finish chewing before continuing. "I have no doubt that she picked up a few skills…"

Silence from the other end of the phone. "Am I to move to arrest her?"

"No," L almost immediately replied, his eyes narrowing at a message that popped in the bottom corner of the screen. Hmm. Another case. "You are only to observe her, but inform me if she appears to be doing anything peculiar. I do not believe she will break the law but if she does, consult me before acting. Otherwise – she is not a threat."

"Understood."

L flicked the phone shut, tossing it a few steps away from him, leaning closer towards the screen as he clicked to read the new message.

Of course, he could have saved all the trouble of surveillance and simply arrested her. Even though there was no solid evidence tying her to the crimes that Beyond had committed, it wasn't as if L didn't have… _ulterior _ methods to put her either in prison or in psych-word as it was clearly that the girl was suffering from some extreme variation of post-traumatic stress disorder. But her health had prevented him from doing so – he had deducted that she most likely didn't have very long to live either way. And if you think about it – she didn't _technically_ kill anyone.

He'd admit he was also little curious. He had expected Beyond to kill the young woman after he exhausted her usefulness, not to form emotional attachment to her. Perhaps B wasn't as cold as he liked to appear.

In the end, Anna Nixon was nothing more to L than just a loose end that he couldn't be bothered to deal with, pointedly irrelevant. Her involvement with Beyond was clearly manipulated from the start by the latter party and there was little chance that she will commit crime on her own.

He shall simply remain aware of her existence, hiring people to keep a surveillance on her for future reference. Her relationship with B was rather interesting, though her attachment was not surprising at all to L, given her character and life experience.

But even that was for Mr Dvornikov, the Private Investigator, to sift through.

L had much more pressing matters at hand. Like his oncoming visit to Wammy's house, for he still hadn't decided whether to avoid human interaction altogether and simply speak with them through the computer screen, or to visit the top three of his successors again; though he felt that the rest of the children might be prone to jealousy, and the top two would most likely fight for his attention. Those children were rather emotional.

Eraldo Coil had six pending cases to solve as soon as possible, from all four corners of the world. Deneuve was asked to appear in the Buckingham Palace personally, by the Queen's advisor. And L… Well, L had more cases than the two men who previously owned those names had in their entire careers.

Yes… much more important matters to tend to than the lonely, unstable toy Beyond has left behind…

.

* * *

.

Anna groaned, her hands loosing grip on the sink until her forehead connected with the mirror. She stumbled to catch her balance only after she was yelling out in pain, the yellow cylinder container clattering to the floor. The brunette took in a deep sigh, looking down at the pills, frowning.

Why did she take them out from the bathroom cabinet? Didn't she take one that morning already? She couldn't remember.

With each passing day it had gotten worse. Beyond was gone and when he left, he took what little sanity she had left with him. The hallucinations returned that very day, with Justin Quinn appearing over her in the middle of the night and attempting to strangle her. The next morning she rushed straight from the hospital to Dr Foveaux office, demanding for the woman to make all of it go away.

A long month passed before the medication helped. She became calmer again, less agitated and less prone to bursts of anger. Yet again Anna became a medicated, halcyon version of herself. The only reminder of Beyond ever existing was in her dreams where he never left her side.

Anna coughed, wincing when she tasted blood before spitting it out and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

Unfortunately, the strange illness – she didn't really know what to call it – remained. It would wake her in the middle of the night and send her to the bathroom in a violent outburst of vomit and blood, as if her own body was trying to rid itself of her internal organs. Almost every morning she woke with dried blood around her mouth and nose, to the point where didn't see a purpose to sleep in the first place, dark circles soon lining her eyes.

On very bad days she would mistake her own reflection for Beyond himself.

But a pill a day takes it all away. Well… Dr Foveaux would have glared at her for seeing it that way. Apparently medication without effort to deal with the psychological side of things was not recommended. But it numbed her, and although it didn't take all the bad thoughts away, at least it kept her in a calm state of numbness and that was the next best thing. Dr Foveux had referred her to a colleague of hers, Dr Chase, but even though the person in the leather seat changed, the content of the meetings did not. The middle aged, greying man was good at his job, there was no doubt about that – Anna didn't really know if she could be fixed at all. She didn't know if it was possible to stop blaming herself for Tracy and Justin's deaths, no matter how illogical her reaction to the accident seemed even to herself. But her parents were happy enough with a medicated daughter, even if for the rest of her life, and who was she to deny their happiness. The psychiatrist acted as nothing more but a bridge between two parents and their detached daughter.

Anna shook her head and mustered the strength to walk out of the bathroom and exchange the towel wrapped around her to a pair of jeans and black, long sleeved shirt, deciding her school bag was good enough to carry everything she needed for her visit.

She had a long trip ahead.

At the end of which she stood stiffly outside the meeting rooms inside the California's Maximum Security Prison, a thick set of iron bars between her and the visits' supervising guard. Anna expected to be nervous, but as she was handed from one guard to the other, she offered the first one a thankful smile.

Truthfully, she was mainly surprised that they let her visit him in the first place.

Anna had lied, said that she grew up in the same orphanage as him and simply came to see how much – or little – was left of her old friend. The staff didn't question it one bit, although they did search her bag and she had to follow exhausting security procedures.

Apparently visiting a serial killer and bringing him a jam doughnut was not that unusual.

Anna, passed the first visiting room with her converse making barely any noise against the floor, averting her eyes from the teary couple. In the second, a bulky convict was teaching a curly haired toddler the alphabet.

And some people still don't understand how a man can come home and kiss and hug and hand his children sweets with the very same hands that earlier pulled the trigger of the gun that was aimed at the child, simply because their father was his enemy.

Anna thanked the guard as he unlocked the bars and shifting the heavy barricade with his shoulder let her into the visiting space, shutting the bars behind her. He didn't lock her in, but turned around to give the two people in the room some privacy.

Visiting rooms resembled regular prison cells in almost every way – except there was no toilet or sink in the corner and the beds were replaced by a long, old table with two chairs on either side.

As expected, there were two cameras in the room, and just as she as she passed every camera before, Anna tried to obscure as much of her face as she could with her hair. She crossed her arms behind her back, holding the brown paper bag with two fingers, and turned to face the man already sitting in one of the chairs, his right side facing the entrance.

"Beyond?" Anna took a couple of slow, unsure steps towards him, taking in a deep breath to prepare herself for what she might see.

She had nightmares about this day.

But when she finally approached the other side of the desk, she almost breathed a sigh of relief.

Three quarters of his face was wrapped in bandages, only leaving one of his eyes and the cheek below uncovered, though red, healing tissue seemed to poke out into the light. The bandages must have been fresh, but they seemed weeks old, already bleeding through. His dark hair was gone, what little of it was left after the fire must have been shaved off. His lips were free, top lip almost completely blackened. The entirety of his neck was bandaged too, as was the top of his chest and his arms, and on his hands he wore a pair of black gloves, the fingers twitching occasionally. The rest was blocked from sight by an orange jumpsuit. The last two of the embroidered numbers to the left of his heart formed a '13'.

He reminded her of a fictional character and as his eye slowly met her gaze, it was the only real thing about him. The little girl inside of her thought she was face to face with Shishio Makoto.

She cleared her throat and shifted on her feet. "You look… good?"

It came out as a question, and Beyond's chest rumbled in a chuckle.

His voice was hoarse, as if his throat was constantly dry, and given his current condition that might as well have been the case. In one of his hands he held a water bottle in a loose grip. "How long has it been?"

"Losing track of days already?" Anna smiled, sitting down in one of the chairs, wincing when it creaked under her weight. "It has been a little over a month."

Beyond glared slightly, crossing his arms and although he didn't voice it, it looked like it pained him to do so. "I have not lost track of the days. I have been in my cell for exactly two weeks and four days. How long I have been in the hospital, is what I do not know, and I was never told the date when I was transferred neither have I had the chance to _socialise._"

Anna raised an eyebrow at his annoyed tone. "Is that so?"

He tilted his head to the side, his upper lip curling. "I have been in isolation due to my…_ fragile_ state."

"Well," Anna sat back and placed one of her hands on the desk, drumming her fingernails on the surface. "Any other complaints?"

"Food here sucks."

It was such an ordinary statement, Anna barked a laugh. She shook her head with a smile and brought the bag from behind her back, leaning forward so she could drop it right in front of him. "I suppose it's good I bought you this then."

He raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "You're going to tell me what this is?"

She grinned mischievously. "Guess."

"A strawberry jam doughnut." It wasn't even a question. Not a guess at all – a blunt statement.

Anna pouted and averted her eyes, resting her chin in her palm. "You're no fun."

Beyond grinned, revealing a few chipped teeth. He hurriedly unwrapped the doughnut and with a hum he sunk teeth and gloved fingers into the soft texture, chewing noisily. The guard turned to look at the prisoner with a raised eyebrow and the expression of disbelief. Upon noticing it was just Beyond eating, he rolled his eyes and turned back around, taking two steps away from the cell.

"Careful," Anna teased. "Don't want you experiencing a sugar rush." She smiled but it fell soon after. She looked down at her hands, fiddling with her nails, and swallowed nervously. She peaked at him through her eyelashes, biting the inside of her cheek. "Are you mad?"

Beyond shifted in his seat, and although the question was rather vague, to the pair it was clear. He looked down at the food, chewing thoughtfully. "I underestimated her – Naomi Misora, the FBI agent. I thought her to be a worthy opponent indeed but it seems like she had a few surprises of her own. I lost to her because I saw her as nothing more than a pawn…" His voice trailed off until it was nothing more than a mumble under his breath. He looked up, but he was looking past her, as if someone was standing behind her. "Of course I am mad… I lost to Naomi. In other terms… _I lost to L._"

Anna rolled her shoulders, crossing her arms as she leaned back in her chair. "You lived, you mean."

Beyond stuffed the last of the sweet food in his mouth, smirking when Anna was made to wait for his response while he chewed. She huffed and lightly kicked his leg under the table and the serial killer cackled childishly through the mouthful of food. He finished chewing and swallowed, the corners of his lips pulled upwards. "In my plans my body would have suffocated long before Naomi Misora got there and once I realised that this had failed I assumed I would have died in the ambulance. But I didn't. My body is stronger than I thought. My life continues." He licked his gloved fingers one by one, consuming every last sugar granule.

Anna tilted her head to the side. "A life behind bars?"

Beyond smirked. "And yours continues in the medical school." He leaned forwards, curiously, his hands disappearing under the table and resting on his knees. "Why are you here?"

The girl shrugged nonchalantly, relaxing her hands flat on the table. "Don't flatter yourself. There's a medical conference nearby that me and Kate decided to go to together, and I simply thought I'd drop in before I have to meet her there."

Beyond clicked his tongue against his teeth, his eye flickering to top right as he took in a deep breath, and mumbled something under his breath.

It was too low for Anna to hear and she sat up, her ears straining but not catching a single word. "What?"

The man shook his head amused. "Nothing."

Anna leaned back again, scratching the back of her neck. "I'll never forgive you, you know."

Beyond sat up attentively, his eye staring right through her. "Is that so?"

She nodded, refusing to meet his gaze. "You didn't have to lie to me. To tell me that you'd stay when you didn't have the slightest intention to."

He frowned, leaning back also and setting her with a hard glare. "Did you really, even in the slightest believe that I would drop years of planning and obsession just to be with you?"

Anna scoffed, finally meeting his eye with an equally heavy stare. "And yet you seem glad, happy even, to see me?" she shot back, not realising her hands were curled into fists and she was leaning towards him.

It was strange. She was slowly turning back to calm Anna, the Anna that wasn't affected by anything really. But spending just a few minutes with Beyond and he was already setting her teeth on edge.

He grinned, the bandages stretching painfully, and with his intense gaze he looked every part the title he held. "I have gotten quiet attached to my pets."

Anna huffed and before she realised she was doing it, the chair was scraped back and she was on her feet, turning to leave. Beyond acted just as quickly, leaning over table to snatch her wrist, smirking when he felt her pulse quicken. Anna hesitated but slowly turned to him, her head held high. "Stay. I wasn't being serious, Anna. Please?" he pleaded, offering her a genuine, soft smile. "Don't leave."

The brunette sighed and gave the security guard a sideways glance. He hadn't noticed the commotion. She looked back at Beyond, a part of her demanding she left the prison that very moment but Anna stomped the thought down as a smile made its way onto her face and she sat back down.

Beyond followed suit but didn't let go of her hand, holding it for the rest of the visit. And when she stood up to leave, he let go of her limb willingly and didn't move to hug her or exhibit any other physical signs of affection. He only sat back in his chair, lightly tapped his gloved fingers on the table and smiled.

Because as she left him behind the iron bars of the visiting room, she knew. When she exited through the steel security door and collected her belongings and signed a visitor sheet, arranging a second visit, she knew.

She knew that she will be back next week. And the one after that, and even the one after that. She will always be back.

And Beyond will never move. He will always stay in his cell because after all, even if he was to escape, what purpose did he have left in the outside world, truly? He could easily escape, but he never will because even though she would be there, there would also be emptiness. A constant reminder that he had failed. _This _world, between four walls, had a certain sense of hope within them. All these criminals were no more than pests when compared to him. Their crimes and the reasons behind them were so… petty, so savage. So human. They either killed for no purpose at all or let their emotions control them.

Beyond smirked, ignoring the pull of his scarred skin. There was one thing left that he could do.

As the same guard opened the door to escort Beyond back to isolation, he looked up and rose a thumb to his lips. As he was led past the cells, his eye flickered over the other inmates, amused at their shouts of intimidation. The prison doctor said that if his body continued recovering at a present pace, he could leave isolation in as little as two months.

He hummed to himself, tapping his foot as they waited for one of the many steel security doors to buzz open. As Beyond was ushered back into his dark cell he tried to recall the smell of fresh air. As the door shut behind him he kicked off his shoes, bare feet lightly twitching as they felt the cold floor beneath. He grinned, throwing his head back and laughing. He didn't laugh for long, for at that moment it still hurt him to do so. Instead he hunched his shoulders, and stuffed his hands in his pockets, slowly shuffling towards his cot.

He hoped his hair would grow back. He couldn't imagine L without his hair to cast a shadow over his eyes.

Anna clicked her tongue against her teeth, her hair obscuring her vision when the steel gate opened with a loud metal groan. She nodded at the security guard and adjusting the bag over her shoulder she didn't give the concrete building behind her a second glance.

An icy wall of wind blew her back a couple of steps and instead of wincing she closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of falling leaves.

.

* * *

.

_Sam Nixon turned off the television with a frown, biting his bottom lip. Anna beside him sat up, the heavy book falling from her lap onto the pale carpet underneath the sofa._

_"Why did he do that?"_

_Sam turned to her and forced a smile on his face, letting his back sink into the cushions and rubbing his temples with his fingers to get rid of the memory of the gruesome Six O'clock News' report. He could handle the most gruesome injuries like it was nothing but a splatter of an ice-cream on the sidewalk, but when crimes began to involve mental illness he often found himself deeply disturbed. "Why did he do what?"_

_"Defend him."_

_Her uncle looked at his teenage niece, noticing the bags under her eyes. He cursed to himself, making a note of setting her bedtime earlier when she's staying at his house, if merely to ignore his concern for her interest about the case. "People do that sometimes."_

_"But it doesn't make sense," Anna pouted, crossing her arms and mimicking him in letting herself fall into the back of the sofa. "The guy kidnapped him when he was a child, most likely tortured and abused him mentally, physically and sexually and yet he grows up to be his partner, continuing the line of serial kidnappings. It's not logical for him to feel anything but hate towards the guy!"_

_Sam smiled weakly, shifting in his seat and reaching to the floor where he picked up her discarded book. It was old, the bright colours of the cover fading, and had a big ugly library stamp in the top corner that half covered the title. He opened the book to a glossary page close to the back, and scanned the words with an index finger trailing down the page. He found the relevant paragraph and tapped it twice, drawing his niece's attention to the printed words._

_As he sat back with his hands stretched above his head, Anna raised the book close to her face and read out the words in an exaggeratingly low, dull voice and slowly rising eyebrows._

_"Stockholm syndrome: a psychological phenomenon in which the victims of a hostage situation or a major trauma, exhibit the feelings of empathy towards their captors." She pulled a face, before sharply shutting her book and throwing it over her shoulder, much to her uncle's uncharacteristically highly pitched exclaim of protest. "No, I don't accept that."_

_Sam Nixon stared at the book with an apologetic gaze. "It doesn't matter whether you accept it or not. Statistics are statistics."_

_Anna huffed, stealing the television remote control from her uncle, turning the power back on. "Well, then the statistics are wrong!" she argued stubbornly, flicking through the channels at half a second's intervals, barely seeing what was on show before skipping onto the next one. "If someone tries to hurt you, you hurt them right back!" She finally settled on a program, hugging her legs to her chest and resting her chin on her knees as she watched a pack of lions chase a horde of gazelles._

_The doctor to her side lowered his eyelids and let himself relax. "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind."_

_The teenager gave him a sideways glance and shifted in her seat, a smirk pulling at her lips, muttering in a thick, exaggerated southern accent. "I won't be aimin' fo' no eye."_

.

* * *

**A/N: I apologise if this chapter seems jumpy, it's a little longer than usual. And honestly, a part of me wanted to end this story here, on a somewhat positive note. But there's a little bit more to Anna's tale; some questions need answering. **


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